Teachers, staff, resident doctors, and the nursing association at King George’s Medical University in Lucknow have announced plans to protest the police’s failure to file an FIR regarding the ruckus at the vice-chancellor’s office on Friday.
A meeting has been scheduled for Monday to determine the next course of action.
The ruckus on Friday broke out after a group of people, including BJP leader and vice-chairperson of the Uttar Pradesh Women’s Commission Aparna Yadav, entered the campus and allegedly tried to force their way into the V-C’s office. Yadav wanted to meet Vice-Chancellor Soniya Nityanand over the alleged case of religious conversion on the campus and allegations of sexual exploitation of two women.
Following the ruckus, the KGMU’s chief proctor filed a complaint. However, an FIR has not yet been registered because the police claimed that their investigation is still going on. University authorities said police have been deployed on the campus after they raised safety concerns.
Sources on the campus said that though the situation escalated last Friday, this was not the first incident involving a random group of people entering the campus to enquire about the actions taken regarding the alleged ‘love jihad’ case.
In this case, a woman resident doctor from the pathology department had complained of sexual harassment and forced religious conversion involving Dr Rameezuddin Nayak, also from the same department. The internal Vishaka committee to check sexual harassment of women at the workplace later found the doctor guilty of these allegations, and the Lucknow police arrested him on Friday.
“While this was the only incident of vandalism at the campus, in the past 14 days, there have been five such instances, where a group of random individuals barged into the campus seeking clarification from the administration on the alleged incident of ‘love jihad’. The recent incident of vandalism has thus raised concerns of security,” said a senior faculty member at the university.
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Yadav had visited the King George’s Medical University campus on Friday following allegations that the university administration was preventing female students and faculty from approaching the state Women’s Commission about incidents related to their issues. She arrived with her supporters for a meeting with the V-C.
While waiting, several supporters allegedly attempted to force their way into the V-C’s office. Subsequently, the university administration reported instances of vandalism on the campus and filed a police complaint, citing CCTV footage as evidence.
“Shortly after the incident, the employees’ union, as well as the unions of resident doctors, nurses, and faculty members, expressed a desire to protest. However, they were persuaded to follow the legal route, as any extreme action could adversely affect patient care,” said Dr K K Singh, spokesperson for the university.
“We have two main demands: addressing security concerns and filing an FIR regarding the incident. While the police have been deployed on campus, the latter demand remains unmet. A meeting has been scheduled for Monday to make a final decision,” added Singh.
