Maoist leader Roopesh gets bail after 11 years in prison

Thrissur: Maoist leader Roopesh walked out of Viyyur central prison on Tuesday after spending 11 years behind bars. "When you come out after spending so many years in prison, you will have a lot of adjustment problems, especially when you address people. It might take more time. I don't feel that I'm out of jail, whether it is a dream or reality," said Roopesh, who secured bail.

The Madurai Bench of Madras high court suspended the life sentence that the district sessions court in Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu, had handed down. The case involved Roopesh buying a SIM card using forged documents and carrying out unlawful activities covered under UAPA. Police arrested him from Coimbatore not for any alleged involvement in specific Maoist violent action, but citing his association with Maoist groups. They alleged that he and some members of a Maoist group hatched a conspiracy to carry out a violent action.


Roopesh faced charges in 43 cases, some under UAPA. Viyyur prison superintendent K Anilkumar said he was acquitted/discharged in 14 cases and must appear in court for the remaining ones. Roopesh said investigators named him in three more FIRs, but the teams told the court that they need not arrest him at this stage.

He criticized the state govt for not allowing the publication of the novel he wrote in prison. "In a way, I'm thankful that LDF govt did not give sanction to publish the novel. Otherwise it would have given the impression that it is taking progressive steps. By denying nod, they actually honoured me," he said.

Roopesh said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan appears as a positive character in his book, though the novel explores tyrannies of power at the micro-level. "I was surprised when sanction was denied. Many pro-Left people who read it said there wouldn't be any problem. But my application was passed between prison, home and law departments. Is this the way cultural expression is to be treated? I felt that CPM general secretary M A Baby wanted my book published. Even leaders like him can do little as it is the people controlling the state, like some department secretary or undersecretary, who take that decision," he said.

Answering questions about the encounter killing of eight Maoists under LDF rule, he said, "It is immaterial who rules the state; this is how the state apparatus behaves."