Gautam Navlakha’s new ‘home’ — a community hall with a library

The place chosen for Navlakha’s house arrest is the first floor of a building owned by a trust named after Communist politician and trade union worker B T Ranadive. The NIA had objected to the building being owned by the Communist Party of India (Marxist). However, the SC said on Friday that it was a registered political party, setting aside the central agency’s objection.

Local residents of the village in Belapur, where the building is located, said that it was built as a tribute to Ranadive, housing a library, a community hall and a reading room for students.

“The idea was that instead of installing a statue or any other kind of memorial, a space like this would be a better tribute,” said an office-bearer of the library. He said that the library has over 20,000 books, mainly in Marathi, and its membership is available for monthly fee of Rs 30.

“There were once 2,000 members of the library. The number has been dwindling. Now, five to six persons visit the library daily. Others who drop by are mostly locals from the village or those working in government offices in the area,” the office-bearer said.

Another added that there are more takers to the reading room located on the first floor. While the library functions between 10 am and 5 pm, the reading room opens its doors to competitive exam aspirants at 9 am and shuts at 9 pm for a monthly fee of Rs 100.

With Navlakha and his partner shifting on the first floor soon, the reading room has now been shut. The karate class operating out of the open terrace above the first floor has also been discontinued. Apart from books, Navlakha will have access to walks in the company of police personnel, with CCTV cameras at the entry and exit points as well as round-the-clock guards outside, at his expense.