Skip to main content

Sections imposed on attackers of Motihari professor "laughable": Letter to Nitish

In a letter to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, the Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association (JTSA) has said that the "brutal assault" on Sanjay Kumar Yadav, assistant professor of sociology at the Central University, Motihari, on August 17 by a gang of around 20-25 goons, which dragged from his third floor flat into the street, preceded an atmosphere of intimidation and threats of violence against him.
According to JTSA, in his complaint to the police, Sanjay Kumar has clearly named the ring leaders of the mob. It also records the incessant harassment and threats issued by Sanjay Kumar Singh, Bureau Chief, Dainik Bhaskar. These threats pertained to his opposition to the vice chancellor against whom the university teachers had been agitating, as well as his Facebook posts, one of which invited the wrath of assailants.
Calling it Jungle Raj, JTSA wonders why the perpetrators and those who threatened him, which can be ascertained from a video, have not been arrested. "The sections under which the FIR has been filed are laughably light", it says, urging him to "see the video and decide whether the mob attacking Sanjay Kumar with rods was merely engaging in wrongful restraint (S. 341), and a simple case of causing hurt voluntarily (S. 323)."
Wondering what would qualify as an attempt to murder (non-bailable S. 307) in his opinion, JTSA says, "We are surprised at the sullen silence of the government on this murderous assault. We can only conclude that your conscience has made peace with the lynch mob."

Comments

TRENDING

Civil society at a crossroads: Service delivery vs. rights in the fight for social change

Counterview News   In the latest episode of the podcast Unmute , hosts Gagan Sethi and Minar Pimple convened a profound conversation with two veteran development practitioners to dissect a persistent tension within civil society: the perceived divide between service delivery and the struggle for rights. The episode, titled "Beyond Service Delivery: Civil Society, Rights, and the Politics of Social Change," featured Apoorva Oza , a development practitioner with decades of experience in rural development and institution-building, and Professor Dipa Sinha , a development economist known for her work on food, nutrition, gender, and social policy.

Grain vs. gasoline: How the global biofuel boom threatens India’s food and water security

By Rajiv Shah  A new report published by the international research and advocacy organization GRAIN has warned that the global resurgence of biofuels is triggering a dangerous dynamic of “more fuel, less food, more land grabs.” Driven by intersecting energy security concerns, geopolitical tensions, and aggressive decarbonization mandates, the expanding agrofuel industry is increasingly pitting corporate energy interests against global food security and indigenous land rights. 

Sikkim governor row: ALIFA asks centre to explain hurried appointment in Ankita Bhandari case

By A Representative   The All-India Feminist Alliance (ALIFA) on Saturday expressed “immense pain and outrage” that even after four years and a national uproar, justice has not been fully delivered in the Ankita Bhandari murder case and that a ruling party politician facing allegations has been “gifted a high-ranking constitutional office.” In a statement, ALIFA extended “unflinching solidarity” to Ankita’s parents, who it said are “fighting for justice on the streets of Delhi,” and demanded that pending the CBI inquiry and judicial decision, the appointment of BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim’s Governor be subject to “immediate presidential review.”