LUCKNOW: An assistant professor at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was suspended on Wednesday for allegedly hurting “religious sentiments” by making objectionable references to Hindu deities during a lecture to MBBS students in the forensic medicine department.
Assistant Professor Dr Jitendra Kumar was suspended after he was prima facie found to have indulged in “misconduct” based on preliminary facts. “He has been issued a show-cause notice asked to submit a reply explaining his behavior. Meanwhile, the university administration has suspended him,” said Shafe Kidwai, in-charge of AMU Public Relations.
A case has been registered against the professor at Civil Lines police station in connection with the “inflammatory content” of his presentation during the class on Tuesday.
In a statement, Circle Officer Shwetabh Pandey claimed that it came to the knowledge of the district police that Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College assistant professor Dr Jitendra Kumar had used a Powerpoint presentation with objectionable references to deities hurting religious sentiments. Based on a complaint from Dr Nishit Sharma, an ex-student of AMU, an FIR has been lodged against him under relevant sections of the IPC.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Dr Jitendra Kumar had tendered an “unconditional apology” to the AMU V-C in a response to the show-cause notice.
According to Shafey Kidwai, the university administration received complaints from some students and the screenshots of the lecture presentation of the assistant professor as it went viral on social media. He claimed that the matter was dealt with utmost seriousness and a show-cause notice was issued to the professor.
An AMU official said that during a lecture for the department covering the subject of rape on Tuesday, Kumar had used references to certain Hindu gods like Lord Vishnu, Lord Brahma and Lord Indra. “He had also made some references to the
Nirbhaya gangrape case. Students took objection to the references made to Hindu gods,” said the official.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the AMU said, “The AMU administration and faculty today strongly condemned the content of a slide on the mythical reference of rape and issued a show-cause notice to Dr Jitendra Kumar for hurting the religious sentiments of the students, staff and citizens. He has been asked to submit his reply in 24 hours.”
The varsity has also formed a two-member committee to probe the incident and to “suggest steps so that such incidents are not repeated”.
Meanwhile, Aligarh MP Satish Gautam also spoke to the AMU V-C raising the issue and demanding strict action against the erring professor.