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The former Nagpur University professor Shoma Sen walked out from Byculla Jail on Wednesday. She was received by her daughter and a photograph of Sen’s reunion with her family was shared by lawyer, advocate Indira Jaising on X (previously Twitter) saying, “She is finally out. Shoma Sen with her daughter outside Byculla Jail.”
Her release from jail comes days after the Supreme Court granted her bail in the Bhima Koregaon case. The top court on April 5 had observed that the allegations of terrorism against Professor Shoma Sen are prima facie untrue.
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Ms. Sen was released from the jail after completing all formalities, informed a senior prison official.
Ms. Sen who has been in jail since June 6, 2018, is among the 16 other academicians, activists and lawyers who were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). They were accused in their alleged role in instigating caste violence at Bhima Koregaon near Pune in January 2018.
On March 15, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), who had earlier alleged that Ms. Sen was an active member of CPI (Maoist) and had conspired violence in the State, informed the court that they did not require her custody anymore. Considering Professor Sen’s age, degrading health condition and the delay in trial, the top court granted her bail under the conditions of not leaving Maharashtra, must surrender her passport and keep the GPS feature on her phone paired with the investigation officer for tracking her location.
The Hindu tried to speak to Ms. Sen’s family, but they said they will be able to speak to the press only after a few days. Advocate Jaising too did not respond.