At 6.30 am on Tuesday, when DU professor Hany Babu and his family were deep in their sleep, a police team appeared at their residence in Noida city.
What started after that continued for at least six long hours.
The Pune police team had knocked on the door of Babu, who teaches English at the Delhi University, to search the residence in connection with its probe in the Elgaar Parishad case. On December 31, 2017, violence had broken out between Dalits and the upper caste Peshwas at Koregaon-Bhima village near Pune after the Elgaar Parishad, or conclave.
His wife Jenny Rowena, who too teaches English, at Miranda House, said family members are scared after the raid, but DU teachers and students have expressed solidarity with them. She said the police officials did not have a search warrant and they gave them the ”panchnama” in Marathi, which they don”t understand.
“We were sleeping when they came. We didn”t know why they were doing it. They told us that the case does not need a search warrant. They just told us some case number and then said it is connected to Rona Wilson case,” she told over phone.
Wilson was among five Left-wing activists arrested in simultaneous raids in June 2018 for allegedly having close Maoist links.
Rowena said the police officials kept searching and looking at all books for six hours.
“We have books in three rooms and they video-recorded them. After six hours, they said, that you are suspects now in the Bhima-Koregaon case,” she said.
She said the officials told them that they have will corroborate what they have found at the residence with the evidence they have and then “we will come and arrest you”.
“How can they say that? If we are suspects why don”t you come and arrest us,” she asked.
Babu alleged that police officials even seized mobile phones of his daughter and wife during the search, barring them from communicating with friends and colleagues.
Rowena said they do not have any connection with the Bhima-Koregaon case.
“Babu is in GN Saibaba Defence Committee and even (Rona) Wilson used to come for the defence committee meetings. Babu is connected with Saibaba because they are colleagues from DU and we were very close family friends,” she said.
“Because of that he didn”t run away and supported Saibaba. Other than that, we did not know who Rona Wilson was before the Saibaba thing,” she explained.
Rowena said they only got to know about the Bhima-Koregaon case through the media.
“We are not from Maharashtra, our base is in Kerala and we have no idea about the Bhima-Koregaon incident. We have only read about it. There is no way we are connected with it. There is no justice, no fairness. We don”t know what”s going to happen and we are scared. We are talking about seeking legal help,” she said.
DU teachers and students have supported the professor, she said.
The Elgaar Parishad case was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 121 and 121A (waging or attempting to wage war against government), 124A (sedition), among others.
Pune Assistant Commissioner of Police Shivaji Pawar said no arrest was made during the search at the 45-year-old Babu”s house. Noida police said only a search and seizure operation was conducted at his residence.
The Delhi University Teachers” Association condemned the raid on Babu”s house.
“Such raids without search warrants are against the very essence of democracy, individual freedom, and open the door for planting evidence. Arbitrary use of instruments of the State to harass and intimidate dissent is inexcusable,” DUTA said in a statement.
Such intolerance towards criticism and dissent was the basis for the insidious attempt that was made last year to amend the Delhi University Act and apply ESMA, DUTA said.
“We demand an immediate end to such blatantly threatening postures towards voices of dissent and democracy. This attack on academic freedom and freedom of expression will be opposed tooth and nail by the teachers of Delhi University and other academic institutions in the country,”it added.
Not only has he been an outstanding teacher but has also been an active participant in struggles for academic freedom, democratic right, lawful and democratic functioning of the university, equal access to university education and social justice, DUTA said.
Member of RSS-affiliated National Democratic Teachers” Front Rasal Singh said, “We respect freedom of expression. But it is a matter of greater concern that Naxalite ideology and activities are being promoted in universities in the name of freedom of expression.”
“DU”s English Department is becoming the centre of such anti-national activities. Anti-India ideas must not be propagated and promoted in the name of freedom of expression. We demand a free and fair inquiry in this matter,” he said.
