After the NIA arrested the Delhi University professor Hany Babu in connection with the Elgar Parishad Bhima Koregaon case, various student organisations across the country have come out in his support and condemning the arrest. The professor, according to an NIA statement was propagating Naxal activities and Maoist ideology and has called him a co-conspirator with other accused in the case.
Left allied student political organisations like SFI and AISA have also started Twitter storms expressing solidarity with the professor. "Fabricated charges and lies have been the modus operandi of NIA and investigative agencies. The arrest of Prof Hany Babu proves the Modi government wants to silence and harass pro-democracy forces," reads a statement by AISA. "Professor Hany Babu is a noted anti-caste activist and a staunch proponent of social justice. Leader of the ‘Alliance of Social Justice’ and a member of the ‘Joint Action Front for Democratic Education’, he has extensively worked to ensure justice and democracy in higher educational institutions. Students shall fight tooth and nail against unlawful incarceration of our teachers," it reads. Expressing a similar sentiment, SFI has called for a Twitter storm with #StandWithProfHanyBabu and #ReleaseBhimaKoregaonArrestee.
The JNUSU has also called the students asking them to support the cause and raise their voice for the release of Babu and other activists. "Dr. Babu has been harassed regarding the issue in the past and all his academic work was taken away. He was also locked out of his Google account for six months leading to a complete erasure of all his academic work and student-related documents," reads the statement. While talking to an Edexlive reporter a few weeks back, Babu had shared this worry. " I’m left with virtually nothing. I was expecting to get it all back, instead, now they’ve summoned me for another investigation,” he then said.
"Arrest of Hany Babu by the NIA shows for a fact that the entire conspiracy hatched in the aftermath of the violence at Bhima Koregaon is intended to incarcerate and silence a range of activists who have been speaking about the anti-people policies of the State," reads a statement by Campaign Against State Repression, an organisation comprising of several activists, part of organisations like AISA, AISF, United Against Hate etc. Other prominent figures who've come out in his support include anti-caste activist Dilip Mandal and author Ruchi Kokcha
