Arrest of disabled Delhi professor against UNCRPD: Rights group

The arrest and confinement of wheelchair bound Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba for his alleged links with Maoists is against United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), a rights group said Friday.

"Placing a person like Saibaba with severe disability in solitary confinement and denying his rights to accessible facilities within the prison compound is against the UNCRPD and a clear violation of Article 21 of Indian Constitution that guarantees Right to Dignity and Integrity," Javed Abidi, convenor, Disability Rights Group, said in a statement.

Saibaba, professor at Ram Lal Anand College, was arrested here May 9 by Maharashtra Police for his alleged links with Maoists.

UNCRPD is an international treaty on disability rights ratified by India in 2007, which commits the country to protect and fulfill the rights of its 70 million disabled citizens.

The group has also demanded that the professor should be released immediately and till his release, he be provided with facilities and support mechanisms that are accessible to him.

"The harsh and violent manner in which the arrest of Saibaba took place is unacceptable and condemnable in a democracy that claims to follow the law. The inhuman manner in which he is being kept in custody is even more intolerable. The torture and confinement of Saibaba must be ceased immediately," added Abidi.