The police in Mumbai have arrested a former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences for allegedly shouting slogans in support of jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, The Indian Express reported.

Abhirup Paul was arrested hours after he and another student of the institute were denied anticipatory bail by a Mumbai court. They were also booked for possessing downloaded books and other material that the prosecution alleged reflected Maoist ideology.

Paul was produced before a magistrate’s court on Saturday. The police sought 10 days’ custody, but the court remanded him to custody until Monday.

Khalid and Imam have been in jail for more than five years under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for their alleged role in a conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots. The trial in the case has not yet begun, and their petitions for regular bail have been repeatedly rejected.

On Friday, seven students, who had been booked after taking part in an event in October commemorating the death anniversary of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, were granted anticipatory bail.

Saibaba, who had more than 90% disability and used a wheelchair, spent over seven years in jail on accusations of having links with Maoists. In March 2024, he was acquitted by the Bombay High Court and released. Seven months later, in October 2024, he died of post-operative complications in Hyderabad.

The court had said that while paying homage to Saibaba was not unlawful, the allegations that the students had shouted slogans in support of Khalid and Imam, along with the material recovered from their electronic devices, weighed against granting them anticipatory bail.

In October, some students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences gathered on campus to light candles and display posters of Saibaba to commemorate his death anniversary.

The police had filed the case against the students who attended the event based on a complaint by the institute’s administration. The first information report invoked charges of causing prejudice to the nation, causing enmity between groups and participating in unlawful assembly, among others.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.

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