Darbhanga professor receives ‘beheading’ threat, police probe

THE LETTER ASKS LNMU CHEMISTRY HOD TO TRANSFER A LAB TECHNICIAN OR HE WOULD BE BEHEADED. THE SENDER OF THE LETTER, WRITTEN IN HINDI, HAS SIGNED OFF AS ALAM PARVEZ

DARBHANGA: Police here have registered after a professor at the LN Mithila University in Darbhanga approached them, saying he has received a letter threatening to behead him, officials said.

“The head of chemistry department at LNMU, Prem Mohan Mishra, and his family members received a death threat through a letter,” police said on Thursday.

“An FIR (first information report) has been lodged on the basis of the professor’s complaint. The letter was sent by speed post. We are trying to track down the sender,” said Amit Kumar, DSP ( Sadar), Darbhanga.

The sender has signed off as Alam Parvez and given his address as Kila Ghat area in the town.

The letter, written in Hindi, is scribbled on a sheet of paper that seems culled out of a school-level exercise book.

The sender seems to have a grouse against a lab technician in Mishra’s department.

“Allah has ordered that the lab demonstrator posted in the department, Shashi Shekhar Jha, be transferred to another department or college, which must be at least 20 kilometres away from the place, such as Begusarai,” the letter purportedly says, while accusing Jha of speaking ill against daughters of minority community.

“If the task is not accomplished, jihadis will separate (Sar tan se juda) the head from the body of HOD, chemistry, Prem Mohan Mishra. His entire family will have to meet the same fate, anywhere, anytime,” the letter purportedly says.

The letter was shared by the professor Mishra with media persons, along with a complaint letter addressed to the station house officer (SHO) of LNMU police station, Satya Prakash Jha.

When contacted, Mishra said he was completely clueless about the sender.

“The sender does not seem to have any grievances against me. It is a mere demand seeking transfer of the staff concerned, which is not my job. The letter mentioned an incident that took place during dental college examination in 1995 and a theft committed in 2005, while accusing the lab demonstrator. I am new to the department. Hence, I am unable to correlate,” he said.

Lab demonstrator Jha, when contacted, said, “Incidents described in the letter had taken place many years ago. However, facts have been twisted to accuse people after several decades.”