A Guest Lecturer, Souradeep Sengupta, at the Gurucharan College in Silchar, Assam, was arrested on Friday for making disparaging comments on Facebook against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hindusim in the context of the Delhi riots.
A case (No 722/2020) against Sengupta was registered at Sadar Police Station in Silchar under sections 295(A), 153(A), 507 of the IPC and 66 of the IT Act. The FIR was filed by some students of the College who found the remarks objectionable. They said that Sengupta was trying to incite communal violence.
He was produced before a Silchar Court on Saturday and has been sent to judicial custody until Monday. His bail application has also been listed for hearing on Monday.
In a Facebook post, the Physics Lecturer wrote, “The BJP and the RSS are trying to recreate Godhra in Delhi right now. People on the streets are getting their IDs checked to see if they are Muslim – if they are, they are getting beaten mercilessly.”
He claimed, “Hindu houses are being marked with saffron flags while Muslim houses and mosques are being petrol bombed. All while these terrorists shout Jai Shree Ram. Sanatan Dharma my foot.”
Sengupta alleged, “We elected a mass murder twice as PM – this is what we get. Everyone who voted for the BJP should know they sold the country off for a few bucks.”
In the complained filed with the police, the students wrote that Sengupta made derogatory remarks and abused the Sanatan Dharma as a whole. He has tried to incite communal violence by making inflammatory comments against the Hindu community in the context of Delhi violence, they have written. “We believe that any such hate monger should be punished under the Indian laws and therefore we urge to take stern action against the said person”, the complained states.
Apart from the FIR with police, the students have also submitted a memorandum to the Principal of Gurucharan College demanding immediate termination of Sengupta. The memorandum states the professor has hurt the sentiments of people and abused the elected prime minister of India by addressing him as ‘mass murderer’. Students allege that Souradeep Sengupta has made a desperate attempt to create social unrest and communal riot in otherwise peaceful Barak Valley (of Assam). The students also have written that as a guest lecturer of the college, he has influenced many students by applying his ‘destructive ideology’ in his teaching, and he will continue to do so if he is allowed to continue in the post.
The Guest Lecturer later apologised for his “irresponsible comments about a communally sensitive issue.” He claimed it to be a “lapse of judgement.”
In January this year, two men, Anwar and Niyaz, have been arrested on Tuesday for issuing death threats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the implementation of CAA and NRC. A Congress politician and a rabid activist Nellai Kannan was also booked for calling for the assassination of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
