At least nine students at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai are facing criminal charges over a small event marking the death anniversary of former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba. But the FIR has raised serious questions about police procedure.

To begin with, the FIR has described Saibaba as a “Maoist supporter,” even though the human rights activist was acquitted of all such charges by the Bombay High Court before his death last year.

Then there’s the response time. The police allegedly acted not on a formal complaint but on a tweet – entering the campus in three vans within an hour of the post, around 10.15 pm on a Saturday night.

And perhaps most bizarre of all, the FIR names university official Vaishali Kolhe as the complainant, though that same official has now claimed the case was “imposed on us” by the police and that she was named as a complainant “without consent”. The official clarified that while students had not sought prior permission for the event, holding it was not a criminal act.

An FIR was filed at the Trombay police station a day after the event, which was held on Saturday, under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Maharashtra Police Act, 1951, pertaining to unlawful assembly, intent to cause riot, and promote enmity, among others. It named nine accused apart from unidentified persons.

Among the accused are students of development studies, media and cultural studies, human ecology, social work, habitat studies, disaster studies, and teacher education. All of them were initially questioned by the administration and the police. Five of them subsequently approached the Bombay High Court for anticipatory bail, but the matter is pending before court.

Meanwhile, certain media outlets have quoted anonymous sources to suggest that the police were probing if the accused were linked to one “Frontal Urban Organisation” with Maoist links. Some reports also indicated that students were also accused of raising slogans in support of jailed student leaders Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. 

However, Trombay police told Newslaundry that the investigation had found that no student had raised such slogans. 

Newslaundry spoke to seven students, including some of the accused, to piece together the sequence of events.

‘Guards clicked pics’

Around 6.30 pm on October 9, about a dozen students from the Savitribai Phule Study Circle gathered at the canteen on TISS’s new campus for their weekly reading session. The group regularly discusses issues of social, economic, political, and cultural importance. That evening, they read an interview with Saibaba published in The Caravan magazine after his release from prison.

A student who attended said: “After finishing the interview, we had a long discussion. We talked about how a 90 percent disabled person had been wrongfully imprisoned for 10 years and finally acquitted. We spoke about the injustice he faced and how his case reflected the larger system’s apathy. During the discussion, it was suggested to do something to mark his death anniversary, which was just three days away on October 12. We discussed holding a small gathering in his memory, focusing on the need to advocate for disability rights.”

The students said they hadn’t finalised plans until Sunday evening around 6.30, when they gathered at the iconic Nagori Tea Shop outside TISS, a student hangout.

A Development Studies student, speaking anonymously, explained: “We were having tea at Nagori and realised that although we had planned to mark Professor Saibaba’s death anniversary, we hadn’t prepared anything. So, while talking at the tea stall, we decided that at the very least, we should recite one or two of his poems in his memory. After finishing our tea, we returned to campus. We printed out his picture and placed it on a tree, lighting candles in front of it. Initially there were some 8-10 of us but in a few minutes some 15-20 students gathered there. We recited two poems highlighting Professor Saibaba’s struggles. During this, two guards (a woman and a man) came by, taking photos and videos of the event.”

The student said the situation escalated after the session ended. “A few minutes later, another group of 12-15 students came. They began hurling abuses, tearing the poster of Professor Saibaba, making objectionable comments, and issued threats. I got into an argument with them but advised my fellow students not to engage further, reminding them that we were answerable only to the administration. After some time, everyone dispersed. While going, the students who tore down the poster of Professor Saibaba were raising slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. Around two hours later, at approximately around 10.15 pm, police vehicles entered the campus,” the student claimed.

Pictures taken by security guards soon appeared on social media through a Twitter handle named @MehHarshil, operated by Harshil Mehta, who tagged Mumbai Police and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demanding action. He tweeted: “GN Saibaba was accused of helping Naxals. His death anniversary was celebrated in TISS without any approval. What Mumbai Police and TISS VC Badri Narayan Tiwari are doing? Hope CM Dev Fadnavis shows some action now.”

Mehta tweeted at 9.14 pm. Just 28 minutes later, Mumbai police responded requesting his number via DM. By 10.15 pm, police had entered TISS campus, as per university sources and students.

Another Development Studies student claimed: “We later learned that the guards had shared the pictures in an administration WhatsApp group, and from there, they were circulated further with messages claiming that students were paying homage to Professor Saibaba on his death anniversary…on the basis of a single tweet, without even verifying facts, the police rushed to the TISS campus.”

Notably, a similar event was held last year on campus to pay tribute to G N Saibaba. 

Who is Harshil Mehta?

The same Twitter handle that triggered police action at TISS had previously sparked controversy in September 2025 over a workshop jointly organised by IIT Bombay, UC Berkeley, and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The workshop, titled “South Asian Capitalism,” featured a promotional flyer using a modified version of the early 20th-century political cartoon “Pyramid of the Capitalist System”. The modified “Pyramid of Capitalist India” included illustrations of Amit Shah, Narendra Modi, and Yogi Adityanath in the second-top tier with the caption “we fool you”.

In his tweet, Mehta had tagged all the leaders featured in the poster apart from Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and IIT Bombay. As the tweet went viral, IIT Bombay issued a statement distancing itself from the event scheduled for September 12 and 13 at UC Berkeley.

Mehta is a core member of the Ahmedabad-based right-wing think tank Bharatiya Vichar Manch, which works with RSS leaders and promotes Hindu cultural and civilisational views. The organisation has hosted personalities like Shefali Vaidya, Deepak Sharma from Pragya Pravah, and filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri. Mehta’s social media posts and articles are strongly influenced by right-wing and Hindutva ideologies. His Twitter profile states he contributes to News 18, First Post, and Swarajya magazine.

Police action

The police have seized laptops belonging to three students so far.

A Development Studies student claimed he has not been given “any notice or paperwork” “I still don't know why they took it or what they plan to do with it.”

A School of Media and Culture student claimed he was questioned by the college administration in the presence of police a day after the event. “I told them that I hadn’t organised anything, I had only attended as a student and recited a poem. When they asked about the poem, I explained that it was written by Professor Saibaba for his mother. I told them that reciting a poem is not a crime and that I had not done anything wrong. I was surprised that they were making such a big issue out of an event held in memory of a person who had been acquitted by the court.”

The student claimed they were asked why slogans supporting Umar Khalid were raised but all those who had attended the event denied that any such slogan was raised. “Later that night, police came to the hostel, searching rooms and checking belongings, even of students who had not attended the event.”

A student studying human ecology claimed the guards allowed the event to happen, “and now they are trying to tamper with all that happened. Students are unnecessarily being targeted. A lot of us haven’t had food or sleep for more than 48 hours now. This has left an immense toll on our physical, mental, emotional health. Our classes are missed, careers at stake. The College administration is compromising on the future of us students to set a message.”

‘The FIR was imposed’

According to the FIR, the complainant, associate dean Vaishali Kolhe, alleged that students did not take permission to hold the event and raised slogans in support of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. She also claimed that Professor Saibaba was a member of an international human rights association and a supporter of Naxal and Maoist organisations. 

Asked for comment, Kolhe denied having filed a complaint with consent. “Neither I nor TISS filed the FIR against our students; it was imposed on us by the police. Someone tweeted a picture of the students during the event and tagged the Mumbai Police, the Chief Minister, and others. That tweet was further shared by several others. As a result, the police came to our campus in three vans, asking who was responsible, and they were instructed to lodge a complaint. The police imposed it on TISS and filed the FIR. They put my name as a complainant without my consent. We only called the students to ask what had happened. Conducting such an event is not a crime. Our only concern was that the students could have taken prior permission from the institute. But because of the tweet, the issue escalated beyond TISS's control.”

Ruta Nemlekar, a senior police inspector of the Trombay police station, said, “The FIR was filed because students conducted an event on the death anniversary of G N Saibaba. It’s the sole reason for the FIR.”

Asked if students had raised slogans for Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, she said, “No, they have not raised any such slogans. In our investigation, we have not found anything as such.”

Nemlekar insisted that the police had not taken suo motu action. “We have not taken suo motu action. The FIR has been filed by TISS and not by us.”

Asked if the police acted on the basis of an unverified tweet, she said the police merely “followed procedure”. “We act as per the directions given to us.”

Festivals remind us that light wins over darkness, truth over deceit, and hope over fear. This Deepavali, Newslaundry and The News Minute are adding one more reason to celebrate: the spirit of independent journalism. Avail our limited festive offer here.