Ex-journalist booked under NSA plans to move Allahabad High Court after relief to co-accused

A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev dictated the order in court. However, a fine print of the order is awaited.

A total of eleven FIRs were filed against Verma following the protest in Noida. He was booked under the NSA on May 13 after the police alleged that Verma masterminded the protests “because he was a member of Revolutionary Workers Party of India (RWPI)”, he did “pseudo writing that incites the new generation to enter into rebel organisation as a cadre”; and was the “publisher and writer of Mazdoor Bigul newspaper”.

“It is because of the ‘disgusting ideology of the illogical and stubborn violent andolanjeevi persons like you who with their extreme activeness’ are the decisive planners of such circumstances creating public unrest,” the police report claimed.

“Verma is also the treasurer and operator of Janchetna Pustak Pratisthan Lucknow. The books published from this institution are in favour of Marxist ideology and it is through these books that new cadres are recruited in the organisation through changing the ideas, ideological movements are built in the universities and instead of directly saying to go for violence the aggression of Ideas are raised to such an extent that a person becomes violent,” the UP government alleged, citing the Noida Phase 2 police station in-charge’s report while imposing the NSA.

His friend, Katyayani (67), earlier told The Indian Express that he was picked up from his residence.  “Verma has worked for 15 years as a journalist in Delhi and Lucknow in Univarta, and is the editor of “Bhagat Singh aur Unke Sathiyon ke Sampurna Uplabdh Dastavez” (The Complete Available Works of Bhagat Singh and his Comrades). He has also translated many literary works,” she had said, describing his body of work.