A senior female professor of a university in West Bengal was recently engulfed in controversies after a video went viral. He has now offered to resign from his post. In the viral video, she was seen getting married to her student in the classroom. The incident is of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (Makaut), run by the state government, where the head professor of the Applied Psychology Department performed the ritual of Hindu Bengali marriage inside the classroom with a first year student. The video went viral on January 28, causing controversy.
Professor offered resignation
University Registrar Partha Pratim Lahiri said that the professor has sent an email to the university on 1 February and expressed his desire to resign from his post due to the current situation. He also talked about mentally breaking due to the video going viral.
The registrar said, “He thanked for his tenure in the university and said that she could not continue further work.” The university administration had already sent the professor on leave on 29 January.
Professor defends himself
The professor described the incident as part of the ‘Psycho-Drama Project’, which was done with the consent of students and university. He alleged that a colleague deliberately leaked a part of the video to tarnish his image and ruin his career. She said that she will take legal steps against the loss of her social and educational reputation.
Investigation panel rejected claim
The university formed a committee of five -member women faculty members to investigate the matter. In the investigation, the claim of the Professor’s ‘Psycho-Drama Project’ was rejected.
University Executive Vice Chancellor Tapas Chakraborty said, “It was only a play of the freshers welcome program and was completely inappropriate for a senior teacher.” At present, the university administration is considering the resignation of the professor and it will be decided soon.