Viral videos show female prof getting 'married' to student in classroom, varsity orders probe
Kolkata, Jan 29 (PTI): Viral videos of a senior female professor getting "married" to a student in the classroom at a state-run university in West Bengal triggered a furore, following which an inquiry was ordered on Wednesday, officials said.
The professor claimed that it was a drama that was part of her class.
The incident happened at the Applied Psychology Department of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT) at Haringhata in Nadia district, they said.
The videos showed the professor, who was dressed like a bride, and a first-year student performing various rituals of a Hindu Bengali wedding, including 'sindoor daan' and 'mala bodol', in the classroom.
As the videos went viral, triggering criticism and outrage, the varsity formed a three-member inquiry panel and sought clarification from the professor, officials said.
The professor told the varsity authorities that it was a psycho-drama demonstration, which was part of her class, and not real, they said.
The videos were taken for in-house documentation and were "leaked" to show the Applied Psychology Department in a poor light, she claimed.
The professor was, however, asked to go on leave till the inquiry is concluded, officials said.
The inquiry is being conducted by a committee, comprising three female faculty members of other departments, they said.
MAKAUT's officiating vice-chancellor Tapas Chakraborty said, "The professor has explained that it was part of a demonstration on her subject. The videos were not for external circulation."
"She emphasised that there was no impropriety, no immoral conduct and it was purely an academic project. But, in the wake of the controversy and the videos going viral on social media, we have asked her to proceed on leave for the time being, till the committee submits its findings," he said.
The student has also been asked not to join classes till the probe is concluded, he added.
The professor later told reporters that the entire recording was not uploaded on social media, and only some parts were posted with an "ulterior motive".
"I fail to comprehend how it was considered to be real. There seems to be an ulterior motive behind deliberately editing one part of the entire thing and uploading it on social media, giving a different twist. Being a single woman, I am shaken and upset over the attempts to malign me," she said.
"I have already initiated legal process against attempts to malign me," she added.
She expressed gratitude to the varsity authorities "for understanding my position and being on my side".
"They have asked me not to report for work till the inquiry is complete and I respect the decision," she said.
A lady Professor in MAKAUT is 'getting married' to her young student in the office. pic.twitter.com/coXaVGH7s7
— Abir Ghoshal (@abirghoshal) January 29, 2025
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
