A professor of an engineering college in India’s Karnataka was forced to kneel down and apologise with folded hands for putting up a post on Facebook that criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government over tension with Pakistan, NDTV reported.
The professor also allegedly praised Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Sandeep Wathar, a professor of civil engineering in the college, questioned the BJP government at the Centre for creating a war-like situation in the country in a Facebook post, according to India Today.
“Who sounds more intelligent in all this? You bhakts. You will [be] the reason for the destruction of millions of lives if this tension escalates. BJPabsolutely zero shame,” Warthar is said to have shared in a second post on Facebook.
The posts were eventually deleted.
Indian media reported that the professor was persuaded by the college management to apologise. Over a hundred activists belonging to a right-wing group surrounded the professor and physically forced him to kneel down when he came out to apologise.
The activists also demanded the suspension of the professor. According to NDTV, the principal assured the activists that action would be taken against the professor once the college reopens on Tuesday.
In a video that went viral, the professor can be seen on his kneesmumbling “sorry”, as activists raised slogans around him. A few policemen were also among the crowd, added the publication.
“We have received no complaints so far and so no FIR (First Information Report) has been filed,” Prakash N Amrit, senior police officer in Vijayapura, told NDTV.
“The professor has to take note of the deep sentiments of our army and the people of India in times of crisis. You cannot make any statement praising Pakistan or something that negatively portrays India,” BJP leader, Vivek Reddy, was quoted as saying.
A dangerous escalation between Pakistan and India erupted last week following air combat between the two countries, bringing the two nuclear-armed rivals close to war.
