LU asst prof booked for sedition over Pahalgam attack remarks
LU registrar issues show-cause notice to the assistant professor after a group of students stages protest on the campus
LUCKNOW An assistant professor at Lucknow University was on Monday booked on charges of sedition and causing disharmony for her controversial social media post related to the Pahalgam terrorist attack, calling certain actions based on “religion terrorism”.
The FIR was lodged at the Hasanganj police station against Madri Kakoti, assistant professor in the linguistics department, following a complaint by a student leader affiliated to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), said officials.
A day after the Pahalgam attack, Kakoti had posted on X: “If killing people after asking their religion is terrorism, then, lynching, laying them off, not providing home and bulldozing their houses in the name of religion is also terrorism. Identify the real terrorist.”
LU registrar Vidyanand Tripathi issued a show-cause notice to the assistant professor after a group of students staged a protest on the campus, alleging that the teacher’s remarks had been reposted by a Pakistani media handle tarnishing India’s and LU’s reputation and gave a memorandum to the vice-chancellor seeking action against her. The notice asked Kakoti to submit her explanation within five working days.
Assistant commissioner of police (Mahanagar) Neha Tripathi said an FIR had been registered on charges of sedition, promoting enmity between different communities, and other provisions related to creating public disturbance and hurting religious sentiments.
Kakoti was booked under Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 197 (1) (propagating religious hatred using the right to free speech and expression), 196 (1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups), 353 (2) (making and publishing statement, false information, rumour, or report, through electronic means), 352 (intentional insult to provoke a breach of peace), 302 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound religious feelings of any person),152 (endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India) and Section 69 (a) of the IT amendment Act, 2008.
“We are conducting a probe, will verify the account, and then issue a notice against the named professor,” said Tripathi.
“The investigation is on and legal action will be taken, if the complaint is found true,” said Amar Nath Verma, SHO, Hasanganj police station.
The complaint was lodged by Jatin Shukla, associated with the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). “The statement made by Kakoti is a threat to peace and meant to ignite riots in the country. The post has been shared by a Pakistan media channel. She has allegedly been using words like ‘saffron terrorism’, among others, even in the past and strict legal action should be taken against her,” read the FIR. Efforts to get in touch with Kakoti went in vain as her phone remain switched off.