A professor of Pune’s Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce was arrested on Thursday on charges of hurting religious sentiments hours after the institute suspended him for making alleged objectionable remarks about Hindu deities during a class, reported The Indian Express.
Ashok Sopan Dhole, who teachers Hindi at the college, was arrested on a complaint by Ravindra Padwal, who identified himself as a member of an organisation named Samast Hindu Bandhav.
Dhole made the allegedly hurtful remarks about polytheism in Hinduism during a Class 12 lecture on July 25. A video of him making the comments was shared widely on social media.
On Thursday, Hrishikesh Soman, the principal of the college, told The Indian Express that the matter was brought to the institute’s notice on Wednesday.
“Since he is from the grant-in-aid section of our junior college, as per the government rules and policies, further inquiry has begun,” Soman added. “He has been teaching at our institution since 2005. This was the first such complaint against him that was brought to our notice.”
Various Hindutva bodies staged a protest outside the college and filed a police complaint.
Senior Inspector Vipin Hasabnis said that Dhole was arrested after being summoned for questioning, reported the Hindustan Times.
“We received a complaint application from representatives of various organisations,” Hasabnis said. “After conducting a preliminary inquiry into the allegations, we proceeded to register an FIR [first information report]”
The FIR alleges that Dhole has “insulted the Hindu religion” and intentionally hurt religious sentiments.
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