AMU professor booked by police for alleged references to Hindu mythology during discussion on rape

The Uttar Pradesh Police have filed a case against an assistant professor at the Aligarh Muslim University for hurting religious sentiments by allegedly making references to Hindu mythology during a class discussion on rape, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

The assistant professor, Jitendra Kumar, allegedly did so during a class on medical jurisprudence at the university’s Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College.

“It came to our knowledge that Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College assistant professor Dr Jitendra Kumar had used a PowerPoint presentation with objectionable language hurting religious sentiments,” Circle Officer Shwetambh Pandey said, according to the newspaper.

Kumar apologised for the remarks and said that such an incident would not occur in the future, PTI reported. “My intention was not to hurt religious sentiments of any particular religion and it was done only to highlight that rape has been a part of our society since long,” he said in a letter to the Aligarh Muslim University’s Vice-Chancellor Tariq Mansoor.

The university has set up a two-member investigative committee to look into whether Kumar hurt religious sentiments. He has been suspended pending the result of the inquiry.

Shafe Kidwai, the person in-charge of public relations at the university, said that the assistant professor has been asked to give a reply explaining his behaviour, The Indian Express reported. He said that the university received complaints from students, and that screenshots from a presentation during the lecture were shared widely on social media.

The university administration said that it strongly condemns the references to the mythological figures. It said that it has issued a show cause notice to Kumar for “hurting the religious sentiments of the students, staff and citizens” and has asked him to reply in 24 hours.