Godse comment: Kerala police serve notice to NIT-Calicut professor
KOZHIKODE: Police here on Sunday issued a notice to the NIT-Calicut professor asking her to appear before them in connection with a case pertaining to her Facebook comment allegedly glorifying Nathuram Godse.
In the notice served at the professor A Shaija's home, the Kunnamangalam police asked her to appear before the investigating office on February 13. An FIR has already been registered against her for the comment.
"She was asked to come to the police station on February 13 for a detailed interrogation. We could hand over the notice only today as she was out of the station," a senior police officer told PTI. A primary interrogation was carried out today and details were collected from her, the officer added.
This comes a day after the National Institute of Technology-Calicut (NIT) constituted a panel to investigate Shaija's recent controversial Facebook comment which allegedly glorified Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.
A senior faculty member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the institute here, she had posted the comment on Facebook on January 30 saying "Proud of Godse for saving India".
She had made the comment on a post by a lawyer, Krishna Raj, who posted Godse's photograph captioning it as 'Hindu Mahasabha activist Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a hero of many in India'.
The institute assured appropriate action based on the findings of the panel, the official statement said.
The NIT authorities clarified in the statement that they do not endorse or support any comment that goes against the principles and values upheld by Mahatma Gandhi.
"To address the complaints related to the comment in question, the institute has constituted a committee to thoroughly investigate various aspects of the incident. It will prepare a comprehensive report, and based on its findings, appropriate action will be taken by the higher authorities," the statement said.
Noting that NIT-Calicut is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ensuring that its faculty members adhere to principles, the authorities also said that the institute remains dedicated to maintaining a harmonious and inclusive academic environment.
The panel was constituted a week after Shaija was booked by police.
Multiple complaints were lodged against her in several police stations in the city by various student organisations, including SFI, KSU and MSF, following which an FIR was registered against her.
IPC Section 153 (wantonly giving provocation with the intent to cause riot) was invoked against the professor.
Kunnamangalam and Nadakkavu police stations were among those where complaints were registered against her.
Many student outfits, including SFI and ABVP, took out protest marches to the NIT campus seeking action against her.