Hyderabad: The Telangana Police early on Saturday arrested an associate professor of the Osmania University for his suspected links with Maoists.
C Kaseem, associate professor of the Telugu department and editor of ‘Nadustunna Telangana’ newspaper, was allegedly involved in a case registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), among other sections, at Mulugu Police station in 2015.
"That case is under investigation and we collected the material evidence also. Recently some inputs have also been received," said Siddipet police Commissioner D Joel Davis. "We obtained a search warrant and conducted searches at his residence in the early morning. We seized certain documents and some electronic evidence."
Davis said the police have the incriminating information that the OU faculty is in continuous touch with Maoist party leaders.
Kaseem is allegedly working as an organiser of "united front vertical" of Maoists for Telangana state.
"He is the coordinator for funding and other things," said Davis, adding Kaseem will be produced in a local court in Gajwel later on Saturday.
Kaseem was recently elected state secretary for the ‘Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (VIRASAM)’, which translates to the 'revolutionary writers' association'.
The police entered Qasim's official residence on campus by breaking the doors of the quarter and conducted searches, led by Gajwel Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Narayana. Some books, computer hard disks and material were seized.
Kaseem was taken into police custody and later shifted to an unknown place for further investigation.
After the news of the detention spread around the university, many students took out a rally on campus to protest against it. Some of the protesting students were also detained and shifted to a police station.
“The police are harassing my husband for questioning the government. They have booked him under false cases," said Kaseem's wife, Hemalatha. "They broke down the doors of our house. I will approach the high court for justice.”
Communist Party of India (CPI) Secretary Narayana alleged that the government was harassing intellectuals, who have questioned the government, under the pretext of Maoist links.
K Jagan, an assistant professor of the OU and a member of Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Virasam), was picked up from his residence here last year by a police team from Jogulamba Gadwal district for his suspected links with the Maoists.
In 2018, Virasam leader and renowned Telugu poet P Varavara Rao was arrested by Maharashtra Police in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case.
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