College teachers seek Hindi prof’s suspension over FB post

The Dyal Singh College Teachers’ Association has demanded that a Hindi professor’s suspension over a Facebook post allegedly insulting a Hindu goddess be revoked by the college’s governing body as it was illegal.

The suspension of Dr Kedar Kumar Mandal by the governing body on September 26 last year was illegal since the mandatory prior approval of the Vice- Chancellor was not been obtained, as per office records, Dyal Singh College Teachers’ Association P K Parihar said in a statement.

It was on September 23 that Dr Mandal was suspended for allegedly insulting a Hindu goddess in a post on Facebook based on a complaint filed by BJP- affiliated National Democratic Teachers Front. The controversial Facebook post was deleted later. He was also not given a proper notice or hearing regarding the alleged offence before passing the unauthorized suspension, the association said, citing RTI documents.

The police had said that Dr Mandal was booked under sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code.

These sections are hate speech laws which can attract imprisonment of three to five years or a fine or both.