Kanpur's medical college principal transferred to medical education directorate general

Kanpur -  Kanpur's GSVM Medical College principal, Dr Arti Dave Lalchandani, has been transferred to the Directorate General of Medical Education in Lucknow amid the controversy over her alleged remarks against Tablighi Jamaat members.

Dr Lalchandani was transferred late on Wednesday night and in her place, Dr R B Kamal, an officer on special duty with the college, has been appointed as its officiating principal, said Kanpur's District Magistrate Brahm Deo Tiwari said on Thursday.

Read Also: Video made during sting op to disturb peace, says GSVM principal who made derogatory comments

Tiwari said he received Dr Lalchandani's transfer orders on Wednesday.

Dr Lalchandani had landed into a controversy after surfacing of a video clip over a fortnight ago, in which she was purportedly heard making communal remarks against Jamaat members and equating them with "terrorists".

 In her purported remarks, she had also accused the Yogi Adityanath government of pursuing "appeasement" policy by providing them free treatment for COVID-19 in government hospitals.

Initially after the video surfaced, Dr Lalchandani had dubbed it as a "tampered" one, but had later apologised for "hurting the sentiments of Muslims", whom she described as her "brothers and sisters".

"This was done by a sting operation, by pressurisation, superimposition, by provocation and by deliberately contorting my statements" Lalchandani had told PTI earlier before apologising.

"The video was made viral with an evil intention to spread hatred and disturb the peace," she had said, demanding that the guilty be punished.

It is not clear when the five-minute video was recorded, but the doctor was heard telling her audience, possibly journalists, not to leak her remarks.

"These people are terrorists and we are giving VIP treatment to them by providing food and water. We are exhausting our resources and manpower on them. We are paying hotel bills and are wasting our kits, food, medicines on them," the doctor was heard saying in the clip.

She had also said she planned to speak to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, whom she described as an alumnus of her college.

"Here, no one will listen. The district magistrate is doing things as per the orders of the UP CM," she says.

Referring to Tablighi Jamaat members, she had said, "Admitting them to hospitals is appeasement. Those who should be thrown into jails are being admitted to hospitals."

"They should be thrashed in jail and put in solitary confinement instead of being kept in isolation wards. UP CM should issue an order that no resource should be spent on the Jamaatis," she had said,.

"I asked the CMO to send these patients to some jungle and they should be locked in a 'kaal kothri' (dungeon), but my voice was suppressed.

The appeasement of "these 30 crore people" is being done at the cost of 100 crore others, she had purportedly said in video. 

Read Also: UP medical college principal calls Tablighis ''terrorists'', says they got ''VIP treatment''