Mangaluru cops book three men for defamatory letters, posters against woman assistant professor

Mangaluru police arrested three men, including two lecturers of an aided college in Bantwal, for allegedly writing defamatory letters and pasting posters on public walls against a woman assistant professor from Mangaluru, with an intention to destroy her reputation and outrage her modesty.

"The arrested men include college correspondent Prakash Shenoy (44) from Belthangady taluk, lecturers Pradeep Poojary (36) from Megina Ulirodi in Siddakatte and Taranath B S Shetty (32) from Seethanadi in Hebri," Mangaluru Commissioner of Police N Shashi Kumar told mediapersons at the police conference hall on Wednesday.

Elaborating on the case, the Commissioner said the victim is presently serving as an assistant professor at a first grade college in Mangaluru, on deputation, for the past four and a half years.

Using obscene language and photographs downloaded from the internet, the men had sent hundreds of open postcards and inland letters with an intention to tarnish her image to lecturers, principals, and officials in the department of collegiate education from November 12, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

The trio later called the Assistant professor a commercial sex worker and pasted her contact details including phone number and email address on the walls of public urinals in Chikkamagaluru, Sullia, Subrahmanya, Mudugal, Kottigehara, Hassan, Kallugundi, Belur and N R Pura. "Thus the victim was receiving calls soliciting sexual favours from unknown numbers throughout the day," Kumar said.

The accused men had even issued threats to the Assistant Professor and her family members. The open letters and posters were sent to her family members as well. In the letters, they accused her of having illicit relationships with senior officials and was appointed as a member to the Board of Studies in Kannada after appeasing her higher-ups.

The victim said; “I had received over 800 calls between February 8 to 18, 2022. The callers had even threatened to sexually assault my daughter and other family members.” Following a complaint from the victim, police launched an investigation and arrested the trio case based on technical and documentary evidence.

The victim had served as an assistant professor at the aided college in Bantwal since 1991. Her post was regularised in 1998 and she was due for promotion in 2008. The men nursing a grudge had ensured that the college had withheld her promotion. After facing harassment at the hands of college authorities, she sought deputation to a college in Mangaluru about five years ago.

"With the help of Commissioner of Collegiate Education and Higher Education Minister, my promotion was confirmed. The men in my parent institution continued to target me fueled by fears that I will return to the college,” she suspected.

Kumar said Poojary also has a case registered against him for outraging the modesty of another woman lecturer in a college in 2019.

The police have seized three mobile phones and launched a search for other suspects.

CDR nails the lecherous men

A scrutiny of call details records (CDR) of three men had revealed that they were present at the places where the victim's contact number and email address were pasted on the walls of public toilets, Kumar said. Police have registered the case under sections 507, 509, 149, and 354 of IPC.

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