Hyderabad: Human rights activist and former University of Hyderabad professor, G Haragopal was booked along with 151 others under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sedition.
UAPA is an offence that allows the government to arrest any individual under the umbrella they are a threat to India’s integrity and sovereignty. Sedition is defined as an offence when an individual’s speech or writings can cause hatred towards the elected government.
Retired professor Haragopal has served as Dean of School of Social Sciences at University of Hyderabad.
He has been accused of supporting Maoist activities and charged with conspiring to kill politicians and police personnel as well as ‘replace the democratically elected government at gunpoint.’
The cases were registered by Tadwai police of Mulugu district in August 2022. However, the matter came to light on Thursday when Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) president Chandramouli applied for bail in Rangareddy court.
Chandramouli was arrested in a case two months ago. He had applied for bail following which the Rangareddy court directed officials to furnish FIRs against him.
While retrieving all the FIRs, Prof Haragopal’s name along with Chandramouli, Professor Gaddam Laxman, Professor Padmajasha, Mumbai High Court Judge Suresh, Arunodaya Honorary President Vimala, Progressive Women’s Association President Sandhya and others came forward.
The FIR registered by the Tadvai police stated that on August 19, 2022, Parsa police circle inspector V Shankar was performing his duties when he received information about an alleged gathering of Maoist members.
Shankar claimed the members were planning attacks on officials (under the command of central committee member Pulluri Prasad Rao), destruction of government property, and recruitment of tribal youth to raise funds for their Maoist community.
A combing operation was launched during which the police came across armed men in olive green uniforms at the meeting.
“When the police asked them to surrender, they fled into the dense forest. However, police were able to track their tent which had kit bags, solar plates, water cans, water bottles, steel bags, rope and Maoist literature,” revealed the FIR.
The Maoist literature had the names of 152 people, including the retired professor Haragopal.
Prof Haragopal’s response to the FIR
Haragopal is known as an eminent political scientist and a human rights activist. Responding to the news the retired professor said he came to know about his alleged links with the Maoists through the FIR and had no problem with it.
The activist reminded Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao of his word during the Telangana movement that after the formation of Telangana, he will be at the forefront of civil liberties.
“Doesn’t he know about our work,” Haragopal asked. He demanded that KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, rein in the police which “acts recklessly” and cautioned that if the police is not controlled it would not be good for the Telangana government, which may have to pay a price in the next elections.
“Entire society knows who writes these names. There is no need for Maoists to write. Police include whatever names they want,” said Haragopal, who was the interlocutor from the Maoists side when the rebels kidnapped Odisha’s then Malkangiri District Collector Vineel Krishna in 2012.
Haragopal wants Telangana society to respond as all those booked under UAPA fought for civil liberties and for statehood to Telangana.
He doubted the police version of the Maoist meeting and wondered how all 11 Maoists could escape despite the heavy presence of police.
He pointed out that the police also included the name of Padmaja Shaw, former Professor of Journalism at Osmania University, who is not even present in public life.
“Look how ridiculous this is. Justice Hosbet Suresh, who passed away two years ago, has also been named,” the activist said, adding that the Maharashtra government had not named Suresh in the Bhima Koregaon case out of respect for the former judge of the Bombay High Court.
Calling the police action of including the names a work of fiction, he said it was for the Telangana government to explain why the UAPA case was booked against them.
“Can you book UAPA case just because names are there in a diary,” asked Haragopal, who had also mediated during the hostage crisis in 1993 involving a Congress MLA, a IAS officer and four employees of Girijan Cooperative Corporation in Visakhapatnam.
“Telangana government knows our work. I have been a teacher and working for civil liberties for 55 years but till now there was not a single case against me. People also know the work we have done during the Telangana movement,” he added.
“Those booked are all living with honesty. They are not corrupt and not degenerated. They are a moral asset for the society,” he said urging the society to respond by demanding the government to withdraw the case.
Haragopal said they all will sit together and decide their course of action in this case.
University professors, students, women, farmers and civil rights activists have been named in the FIR. Police alleged that they were trying to overthrow the government at gunpoint by associating themselves with Maoists.
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