BENGALURU: A professor of management and commerce at PES University, Hosakerehalli, has been booked for insulting a student from the minority community by calling him a terrorist. The Girinagar police registered a suo motu FIR against him, even as the university placed him under suspension.
The alleged incident took place on Tuesday and the video of it is doing the rounds on social media. It shows the faculty member, Dr Muralidhar Deshpande, saying, “The moment the class is going on, you come and disturb it. Sharm nahi aati tumko. Useless fellow, terrorist. I will call you a terrorist. I thought I will be very calm today. Kya kha ke aate ho? Sharm nahi aati? Terrorist.”
Dr Deshpande is an adjunct faculty at the department of Faculty of Management and Commerce. Following the incident, Lakshya Raj V, president, Bengaluru Central District, National Students Union of India (NSUI), filed a complaint with the Girinagar police against Dr Deshpande.
Lakshya stated in the complaint, “Dr Muralidhar Deshpande allegedly humiliated a minority student by addressing him as belonging to a terrorist group. This act is highly condemnable and unacceptable. NSUI demands action against Dr Deshpande and a public apology video for his misconduct with the student.”
Jawahar Doreswamy, Chancellor, PES University, in an official letter addressed to Dr Deshpande, stated, “A case of student complaint has been received. Pending a detailed enquiry into the matter, you are kept under suspension with immediate effect.”
In the meantime, the Girinagar police too registered a suo motu FIR, following a complaint by Head Constable TN Ravi Kumar against Dr Deshpande.
Professor called student a ‘terrorist’ 13 times
Ravi Kumar stated in the complaint that he has been tasked with gathering intelligence and keeping a watch on social media posts.
While gathering intelligence in the station limits, he came across a post on social media where the professor allegedly referred to a Muslim student as a ‘terrorist’ at least 13 times in front of 60 students during a class. Due to the potential threat to communal harmony, a suo motu case was registered, the complaint read.
A police official said, “The professor is booked under BNS 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and BNS 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace). A notice will be served to him and further investigations are on.”