Kerala University professor booked for alleged casteist remarks against research scholar
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): The head of the Sanskrit Department at Kerala University has been booked for allegedly making casteist remarks against a research scholar while refusing to sign his thesis, police said on Sunday.
Sreekaryam Police registered the case against C N Vijayakumari, Head of the Sanskrit Department and Dean of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the university’s Kariavattom campus.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Vipin Vijayan, a native of Vanchiyoor and a research scholar in the department.
According to the FIR registered late Saturday night, Vijayakumari allegedly refused to sign Vijayan’s thesis after his open defence held on October 15.
Later, when Vijayan approached her again, requesting that she sign the document to complete his PhD process, the accused allegedly made casteist remarks in the presence of other teachers and students, the FIR said.
The complaint also alleged that Vijayakumari had been making similar caste-based remarks since 2015, when Vijayan began his M Phil at the Kariavattom campus under her supervision, FIR said.
The FIR stated that Vijayakumari allegedly told the complainant that people from lower castes could not learn Sanskrit and that she would clean her room with water after they entered.
Police said a case has been registered under sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, that deals with the crime of intentionally insulting and abusing a member of the SC/ST community by caste name in public view.
Officials added that the offences are non-bailable, and a detailed probe will be conducted before deciding on her arrest.
Earlier, when the controversy broke out, Vijayakumari denied making any casteist remarks and claimed she had refused to sign the thesis as the researcher lacked sufficient knowledge of Sanskrit and his work contained several issues.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
