Professor sent to police custody in obscene letter case

 A local court sent a professor of the Gujarat University to a one-day police custody here today, in connection with a sexual harassment case, for allegedly writing obscene letters to three of his women colleagues.

Sarman Zala (56), who heads the political science department of the Gujarat University, was arrested yesterday for sexually harassing three women colleagues after he allegedly wrote obscene letters to them.

Metropolitan Magistrate B L Choithani remanded Zala to a one-day police custody after hearing the probe agency's application which sought three days' of police remand.

The Gujarat state police had contended before the court that it would need three days' remand of the accused to find out if he wrote obscene letters to women professors and under what circumstances he wrote such letters.

The probe agency said in its remand application, that it would need the accused professor's handwriting samples to match with the handwriting on obscene letters which were allegedly written by him.

Opposing the remand application, Defence Counsel Amit Nair told the court that no grounds have been put forward to substantiate the claim that the letters were written by Zala.

Nair argued that the alleged obscene letters are in the custody of the investigating agency and so there is no need to interrogate his client.

He told the court that whenever the police needed the accused in this case, he could be produced to co-operate in the investigation. After hearing both sides, the metropolitan court sent Zala to police custody until 11 am tomorrow when a further hearing of the case is scheduled.

The sessions court had rejected Zala's anticipatory bail after which he had surrendered at the Mithakhali-based women police station here yesterday.