An assistant professor of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) was suspended on Wednesday after allegedly citing examples of rape in Hindu mythology during his lecture before medical students.
Dr Jitendra Kumar, a teacher in the department of forensic medicine at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Medical College, which was part of the AMU, had given a presentation before the class in which he had included slides that allegedly cited examples of rape in Hindu mythology.
A few students who attended the lecture later lodged a strong protest before the Varsity officials in this regard and sought action against the teacher, sources said. A case under different sections of the IPC was lodged against Kumar on the complaint by a local BJP leader and the students.
AMU proctor Dr Wasim Ali said that the Varsity had taken a serious view of the matter. "The teacher has been suspended and a show cause notice has also been issued to him seeking his explanation," he added.
Kumar, however, said that it was not his intention to hurt the religious sentiments of any community. In his reply to the show cause notice, Kumar tendered an unconditional apology and assured that he would henceforth take care not to repeat such 'unintentional' mistakes in future.
"I simply tried to explain to the students that rape had been part of the society since ancient times," Kumar said.
Saffron outfit leaders in Aligarh, however, said that the matter should be thoroughly investigated and it should be ascertained if any other teacher of the department had prior knowledge of the presentation. "Such a presentation could not have been made without the knowledge of the senior faculty members," said an office bearer of a saffron outfit.
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Published 06 April 2022, 11:59 IST