The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Police register case against two Bangalore varsity teachers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 07, 2006

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Police register case against two Bangalore varsity teachers

Staff Reporter

A group of Dalit students has filed a complaint

HEARING THEIR VIEWS: In-charge Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University B.G. Sudha (left) talking to the students who staged a protest on the Jnana Bharathi campus in Bangalore on Saturday. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: Student-teacher relationship nose-dived further in Bangalore University with the Jnana Bharathi police registering a case under SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against the English Department chairman and a senior professor on Saturday, based on a complaint by a group of Dalit students.

This was apparently in retaliation to a case of assault registered by the police against the some Dalit students, after the university lodged a complaint on Friday.

Last Tuesday, a group of about 50 Dalit students allegedly attacked an English Department student and also some female students who tried to protect the student. The victim had wrongly translated a Kannada term on Dalits, during an English class almost a month ago.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) K.V. Sharathchandra told The Hindu that the police were investigating both complaints, but no arrests had been made.

Meanwhile, more than 100 students staged a protest outside the university's administrative block on the Jnana Bharathi campus, demanding the withdrawal of the criminal case filed against some students.

The students maintained that they were "extremely hurt" by the university Syndicate's decision to refer the matter to the varsity's Standing Committee on Sexual Harassment.

During their 30-minute interaction with the university's in-charge Vice-Chancellor B.G. Sudha the students often grew restive.

"The varsity should have discussed the issue with us. We are very upset that they did not approach us on this matter," said Rajappa, a student.

Another student, Chandrashekhar, charged that the sexual harassment case was foisted on them to divert attention from the casteism in the University. The students charged that there was discrimination even in the seating arrangement in the classrooms.

Despite repeated requests by the students to withdraw the case, Dr. Sudha reportedly refused, and instead urged the students to go back to their classes and focus on their studies. "The standing committee will take some time to decide on the matter. In the mean time, you need to go back to classes," she said.

Later, in a release, the university Registrar said the classes in the postgraduate department of English would resume from Monday.

The department has been closed since Tuesday.

In a related development, the University Research and PG Students' Federation demanded the immediate withdrawal of the case against the students and transfer of the university Registrar and urged the university teachers, non-teaching staff and students to work for peace on the campus.

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