A physics teacher at Gurucharan College in Silchar, Assam, was arrested on Friday night after a group of students accused him of posting derogatory remarks about the prime minister, reported The Indian Express.
The students, who filed a first information report at Silchar Sadan police station, have alleged that guest lecturer Souradeep Sengupta’s social media posts had allegedly hurt the sentiments of those belonging to a particular religious community, reported local news portal Barak Bulletin.
The complaint said Sengupta had made derogatory remarks and abused the “Sanatan Dharma” as a whole. “He has also alleged the prime minister of the nation [w]as a mass murderer, and tried to incite communal violence by making inflammatory comments against the Hindu community, in the context of the recent Delhi violence,” the complaint said.
The students also submitted a complaint with the college authorities and called for Sengupta’s immediate termination. The letter claimed that Sengupta had blamed the Hindu community for being responsible for the communal violence in Delhi that has claimed 42 lives. Images of the FIR and the letter to the college were shared on social media by Karanjit Deb, whose Facebook profile said he was the Silchar city secretary of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
“As a guest lecturer of the college, by applying his destructive ideology in teaching he has influenced many students and will continue influencing many more, if he is allowed to continue as a guest lecturer of this highly esteemed institute of our state,” the students’ letter to the college read.
In his post, which has now been deleted, Sengupta had reportedly accused the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the saffron party’s ideological parent, of attempting to recreate the 2002 Godhra riots, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state at the time.
“People on the street are getting their IDs checked to see if they are Muslim – if they are, they are getting beaten mercilessly,” the teacher had reportedly posted. “All while these terrorists shout Jai Shree Ram. Sanatan Dharma my foot. We elected a mass murder twice as PM – this is what we get. Everyone who voted for BJP should know they sold the country off for a few bucks.”
Deb also shared a video of students protesting with slogans of “traitors will be buried” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.
However, following backlash Sengupta deleted the post and apologised for hurting “any religious sentiments”. “I made some irresponsible comments about a communally sensitive issue. It was a lapse of judgment,” he posted. “My intention was not to insult any religion at large.”
Violent clashes, which began on Sunday in North East Delhi, between supporters and opposers of the Citizenship Amendment Act turned communal in the next few days with increased attacks against the Muslim community. The Delhi Police on Friday said a total of 148 FIRs were registered and 630 people were either arrested or detained so far in connection with the violence in the North East district over the last five days.
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