Bengaluru professor viral video case: Cybercrime police book X user over post against Karnataka home minister
FIR Against the Doctor and Hospital Staff
Bengaluru: Taking note of alleged 'derogatory and communally sensitive content' against Karnataka Home Minister on social media, the Bengaluru cybercrime police have registered a suo motu case against an unidentified X (formerly Twitter) user. The case was filed on March 27 after a social media post surfaced in connection with a recent controversy at a medical college owned by the minister.
Medical Dialogues had reported that an Assistant Professor at Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Nelamangala, was recently booked in a sexual harassment case after being thrashed by students for allegedly proposing to a student in a classroom.
According to police, the investigation focuses on the X account holder who allegedly uploaded the viral video clip featuring the assistant professor at Siddhartha Medical College in T Begur, an institution where Parameshwara serves as chairman, reports the Indian Express.
The video showed the assistant professor in the Microbiology department, allegedly proposing to a medical student inside a classroom. The incident had earlier triggered outrage, and the professor was subsequently booked by police and terminated by the college administration.
The Nelamangala rural police registered a First Information Report (FIR) agaisnt the professor under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75(1) (sexual harassment), and 329(3) (criminal trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against the porfessor based on a complaint filed by the college principal, Divakar SV.
The college had earlier issued a notice to the professor over allegations of inappropriate behaviour. The professor was directed not to enter the campus until he was summoned for questioning. However, the accused allegedly violated these instructions and entered the college campus on March 23 and reportedly proposed to the girl, leading to the controversy.
Meanwhile, according to the recent FIR filed by the cybercrime team, the online user shared the video with a caption that drew direct, disparaging links to the home minister and the professor.
Displeased and disappointed over being personally targeted for the lapse at his institution, Home Minister Parameshwara said, "The incident took place in my college, but don’t such things happen elsewhere? As home minister, I have ensured action is initiated as per the law. The college authorities have already terminated the individual. Dragging my name into this for political or communal reasons is wrong."
