Mangaluru, Feb 23: In a controversial move, the Govinda Dasa College, Surathkal, has suspended six of its degree students, whose fun-frolic group photo had instigated miscreants owing allegiance to Hindutva outfits to kidnap and attack a Muslim student in the city.
Prof K Rajamohan Rao, the principal of the college, said that all the five girls and the boy lying on their laps in the photo were temporarily suspended from the college. The photo has gone viral on social media after one of the male classmates of the girls uploaded it on Facebook.
In his letter to the student welfare officer of Mangalore University, the principal stated that an enquiry committee was constituted in the college to probe into the photo row and subsequent developments in the college.
The committee, which inquired the students on Monday decided to temporarily suspend them, and refer the matter for further action to a separate committee comprising representatives of Mangalore University and the management, the letter said.
Mohammed Riyaz, who was brutally assaulted by the trouble mongers on Sunday, has also been asked to appear before the inquiry committee on February 26 to give his statement, said Mr Rao. Riyaz was seen sitting next to the girls in the controversial photo.
He said that the parents of all the students seen in the controversial photo were called to college on Monday and informed about the suspension.
However, Mr Rao has brushed aside the demand of Sangh Parivar to immediately debar the students. “We will follow the procedure and take steps as per the suggestions of enquiry committees,” he said.
Meanwhile, the college’s move to suspend the students has attracted criticism. “This action of college management is utterly unacceptable,” said, Vidya Dinker, activist and convener of Citizens' Forum for Mangaluru Development.
“Some innocent fun amongst young people has been maliciously used to stir up communal tension and instead of standing by the student victims that they are further victimizing them by sending them home is like them being co-conspirators in this incident of moral policing,” she said.
Comments
Add new comment