Police have arrested a college teacher in Silchar in South Assam’s Cachar district on charges of posting ‘objectionable’ comments on Facebook pertaining to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Hindutva.
Souradeep Sengupta, a guest lecturer at Gurucharan College in Silchar was arrested by police on Friday night from his residence.
Police registered a case (No 722/2020) against Sengupta at Sadar Police Station in Silchar under sections 295(A), 153(A), 507 of the IPC and 66 (IT Act).
Police registered the case and arrested him based on an FIR lodged by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists.
Sengupta, who teaches Physics at GC College, referring to Delhi violence, had allegedly said in a Facebook post that some sections were trying to recreate Godhra riots of 2002 in the national capital.
He also slammed Prime Minister Modi and allegedly dubbed him as ‘mass murderer’.
Sengupta had later deleted the posts and also tendered an apology.
“I apologise for any religious sentiments I may have hurt by my posts. I made some irresponsible comments about a communally sensitive issue. It was a lapse of judgement. My intention was not to insult any religion at large,” he said in a Facebook post on Thursday night.
Trouble for him started mounting after an individual had used screenshots of the posts and accused Sengupta of insulting the followers of Sanatan Dharma.
On Friday afternoon, the students filed an FIR and submitted a memorandum to the Principal of the college demanding Sengupta’s sacking.
Sengupta’s family members alleged that a group of around 40 students on Friday gathered at their residence, demanding his apology for his remarks.
“It was a horrific moment for us. As many as 40 students in college uniform gathered in front of our house and started shouting. They made us open the gate and Sauradeep’s room. They were chanting Jai Shree Ram and asked him to go live on Facebook and apologise,” Indian Express quoted Sengupta’s aunt Swagata Choudhury as saying.