On Friday, the high court disposed of Ramjas Chaudhry’s petition after the state government assured action in the case
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – A guest faculty at the Government Arts and Commerce College in Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi District has claimed that he was attacked, harassed and abused after he refused to attend an RSS meeting at the bidding of some of his colleagues.
Ramjas Chaudhry said on 12 September last year he also faced a murderous attack after innumerable threats and abuses.
“In October 2023, I was asked to attend the RSS meeting by four guest faculties Raj Kishor Tiwari, Sandeep Sharma, Vipendra Diwedi and Dr Suresh Kumar Tiwari. When I refused to attend it, they harboured animosity against me. They started harassing me by hatching different conspiracies. I was locked inside a bathroom. Whenever they found me alone, they would chant ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogan and force me to repeat it as well,” he told Clarion India on Sunday.
Chaudhry said he was abused and casteist slurs were hurled at him. Epithets were also written in his class and when he registered a complaint, they issued a threat to kill him. Some unidentified goons were also called in. Fearing for his life, Chaudhry went to his native district Satna.
The Dalit professor also alleged that the local police did not take any action when he complained about his harassment. He said complaints were lodged with the SP and the Collector. But they did not take cognisance of the matter.
“When I went to the office of Sidhi SP to submit my complaint, he shredded my written submission. The SP also threatened me with arrest if I approached him again,” he claimed.
The college authorities also did not take any action on his complaints. Chaudhry said that he was suspended from the college when he had moved the high court against his ordeal. Later, he was reinstated at the direction of the court.
On Friday, the Madhya Pradesh High Court disposed of Chaudhry’s petition after the state government assured action in this regard.
“It is submitted that the ideology of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh is not in sync with the ideology of the present petitioner and when he refuses to comply, then he is beaten and threatened. The danger of murder is looming large on his head. He has already made complaints to the Superintendent of Police, Sidhi, and also the concerned Town Inspector, but no action is taken on these complaints,” a report in The Hindu quoted the court as saying.
The government’s counsel told the court that it will direct the SP to take action within seven days if there is any threat perception.
SP Sidhi Ravindra Verma said an FIR was earlier filed based on Chaudhry’s complaint about being beaten up by some people and the investigation is on. He promised to form a team to look into his matter.
Meanwhile, Chaudhry told Clarion India that he wants the investigations to be carried out outside the Sidhi district. He also demanded the registration of a case against police officials for not taking any action against the accused.
“The police are now active after the court order. But I don’t want this investigation to be conducted by the Sidhi police. The matter should be investigated by the police from another place and by an upright officer. The Sidhi police have already given protection to these criminals. I had sought security from the SP but he did not provide it. He has also not taken action in the matter,” he said.