Archive · 14 Sep 2026
Mumbai Police Notices Former TISS Student Over Saibaba Event
Mumbai Police are investigating a student gathering at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.
The event was held to mark the death anniversary of former professor G N Saibaba.
Police have sent a notice to another former student asking the person to answer questions.
This person was not named in the first police report.
Police say slogans supporting Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were raised at the event.
They also allege that some materials connected to Maoist ideas were present.
A court recently gave bail to former student Abhirup Paul in the same case.
The court said there was no material, beyond suspicion, linking him to a Maoist or anti-national mindset.
Mumbai Police issued a notice to another former Tata Institute of Social Sciences student in a case linked to a 2025 G N Saibaba memorial gathering.
The former student, who was not named in the initial FIR, was directed to appear for questioning under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita.
The gathering took place on October 12, 2025, at TISS’s Deonar campus, where police allege slogans supporting Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were raised.
Police also alleged that attendees possessed materials reflecting Maoist ideology, while a magistrate court found no material linking bailed student Abhirup Paul to a Maoist or anti-national mindset.
The initial FIR named nine students; seven later received protection from arrest, while two applications were rejected and one student was arrested before receiving bail on September 10.
- Who
- Mumbai Police and former TISS students, including Abhirup Paul and another former student who received the notice.
- What
- Police issued a questioning notice in an FIR concerning an event commemorating G N Saibaba’s death anniversary.
- When
- The event took place on October 12, 2025; the notice was issued last week, and bail was granted on September 10.
- Where
- The event was held at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences’ Deonar campus in Mumbai.
- Why
- Police allege the event was organised without official permission and involved slogans and materials that raised security-related concerns.
Police Allegations
Court Findings and Student Position
Alleged Maoist or anti-national links
Police Allegations
Police alleged that event attendees possessed materials reflecting Maoist ideology and raised slogans demanding the release of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
Court Findings and Student Position
The magistrate court said there was no material, beyond suspicion, linking Abhirup Paul to a Maoist or anti-national mindset or to a banned organisation.
Legality and basis of the case
Police Allegations
Police registered the FIR after a TISS associate dean complained that the students organised the event without official permission.
Court Findings and Student Position
The Bombay High Court acquitted G N Saibaba in 2024 after finding that the prosecution had not lawfully established key arrests, seizures, or electronic evidence in his case.
- Investigating agency
- Mumbai Police
- Institution
- Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
- Event date
- October 12, 2025
- Event location
- TISS’s Deonar campus
- Notice
- Issued last week under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita
- Initial FIR
- Registered against nine students in October 2025
- Bail
- A magistrate court granted Abhirup Paul bail on September 10
