Just seven months after his acquittal in a case in which he was suspected of having links with Maoists, former Delhi University professor and activist Dr Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba died on Saturday (October 12). Saibaba, who became a symbol of state repression, breathed his last at the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) in Hyderabad after apparently suffering a cardiac arrest. He was 58 years old. During his ten years of incarceration, Saibaba had complained of horrendous mistreatment and torture inflicted by prison authorities. Although he suffered from permanent polio-paralysis, prison authorities even refused to give him his medication, Saibaba told the media after his acquittal.

Saibaba, also a professor of English at Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College, was acquitted by the Bombay High Court along with five others earlier in March. He was arrested and booked under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged association with the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). However, the state failed to prove the charges against him.

A passionate voice from the Left, the death of the former Delhi University professor marks a deep void in the human rights landscape at a time when several political prisoners are still imprisoned under the UAPA.