Osmania University professor arrested for alleged Maoist links

Telangana Police on Saturday arrested Osmania University's associate professor Dr. Chinthakindi Kashim under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for having alleged links to Maoists.

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Professor arrested

Around 20 policemen in plain clothes started a search at the residence of the professor at his quarters in the university on Saturday morning. The team hailed from Jogulamba Gadwal district of the state and was assisted by the state intelligence department.

Dr Kasim is accused of having close links with the outlawed Maoist party and Maoist sympathisers. Dr Kasim was recently elected as the secretary of the Revolutionary Writers’ Association called Viplava Rachayitala Sangam (ViRaSam). Kasim is a close associate of ViRaSam’s founding member Varavara Rao, an activist who was arrested by the Maharashtra police in 2018.

During the raid, the police teams first surrounded Kasim’s official residence on the university campus. They then broke open the main door to enter the house. The search operation lasted for about three hours where the police seized some books and other incriminating material. Later, the police took Kasim into custody and shifted him to an undisclosed location for questioning.

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Criticising the arrest, Snehalatha, wife of Dr Kasim, said that the professor was being targeted as he is writing and talking about social inequalities, problems of caste and unemployment.

She said that the professor was illegally accused in a case in 2016 for which the police is taking an action now.

"In 2016, a person called Shyam Sunder Reddy was arrested after an accident in Mulugu limits. The police found that he had several books with him including two written by Kasim. Police alleged that Reddy was taking those books to give it to someone, Kasim has no connection to it at all," she alleged.

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Snehalatha, who is also an advocate, said that Dr Kasim's arrest shows how there's a crackdown on dissenting voices against the government.  

The Telangana police had recently launched a crackdown on alleged Maoist sympathisers and have so far arrested at least 20 people, including advocates, students, members of peoples’ organisations. All the arrested are members of Telangana Vidyarthi Vedika and Telangana Praja Front.

The police have claimed to have seized implicating material and electronic evidence from those arrested. Security personnel have also accused the arrested of strengthening Maoist ideology in the state and spreading their activities. According to the cops, these people were also involved in collecting funds for the banned outfit and recruiting cadres for the party.

Dr Kasim will be produced in Gajwel district court on Monday where the police will lay out details of the raid.

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(Picture Credit: Osmania University's website)