Ex-Professor Of Delhi University G N Saibaba Passes Away

Former Delhi University professor and noted civil rights activist Gokarakonda Naga Saibaba passed away on Saturday.

He was undergoing treatment at Hyderabad's NIMS for the past few days, and reportedly died of a heart attack while undergoing treatment.

He was 56, and is survived by his wife Vasantha Kumari and daughter Manjeera.

Saibaba, who was 80% physically handicapped and wheelchair-bound right from childhood due to polio, was admitted to NIMS 10 days back following post-operative complications after undergoing surgery for gallbladder stones. He had been unwell for several years before his death.

A high-profile left-wing activist, Saibaba was arrested in 2014 for his alleged links with Maoists. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2017 by the Gadchiroli sessions court, and was lodged in Nagpur jail from 2017 to March 6, 2024. He was acquitted and released from jail in March of this year.

Saibaba was born in Amalapuram in East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh. After completing his graduation in Amalapuram, he was attracted to the left ideology, and joined the All-India People's Forum in 1992. He organised several programs in a phased manner, and fought for civil rights for a long time.

Saibaba was known as a professor, scientist and intellectual, who fought tirelessly for the protection of human rights. He was known as the hope of the weaker sections of the society. Saibaba asked his family members to donate his eyes and other organs to those in need of them after his death.