An assistant professor of Allahabad University has gone on indefinite leave since last month on the pretext of fearing lynching on campus. According to a report by The Indian Express, Vikram Harijan (40), a Dalit assistant professor in the Medieval and Ancient History Department, said that he sent his leave application after being gheraoed and threatened over some remarks he made on a Hindu God in a video that went viral in August.

Show cause notice issued to Vikram

In connection with the video, the university Registrar N K Shukla has issued a show-cause notice to Vikram for his allegedly objectionable remarks. He, however, is yet to file a reply to the same. Additionally, a police complaint has been filed against him by the ABVP. 

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ABVP’s state sah mantri (Kanshi prant) Ashwani Kumar Maurya said that a complaint seeking FIR against Vikram has been filed for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through a video in which he made objectionable remarks on God. He also said that he has sent a letter to the President of India, requesting action.
 
Vikram, while presenting justification about the video, had alleged that a research scholar, Ranjeet Kumar who is also a Dalit, had edited the video of a two-year-old speech and circulated it to harass him.

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Vikram had made objectionable remarks in the video

The video, in which Vikram allegedly made objectionable remarks, went viral on August 20. He said that the 2.3-minute video shows parts of a speech that he gave during B R Ambedkar’s birth anniversary on April 14, 2017. He further added that it was during a small get-together that happened outside the campus where he had narrated an incident to explain that we can move forward with hard work and not depend on destiny. He also said that he wanted to promote rationality through his statement.
 
He blamed Ranjeet for circulating the video and said that it was done because Vikram had made a complaint against him, this year, to the chief proctor and vice-chancellor, stating that his conduct as a student was unsatisfactory, while also adding that Ranjeet was blackmailing him because Vikram had discussed his personal life with him. 
 
According to the report, a group of students started targeting Vikram after the video was circulated. Further, on August 26, students from ABVP threatened him for making such remarks in the video. As a consequence of that, Vikram escaped with the help of a security guard. The report also mentioned that he started getting threat calls thereafter, after which he decided to stop going to the university altogether. 

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Talking about the indefinite leave, Vikram, who has now left Prayagraj, said that he sent a leave application to his head of department, Yogeshwar Tiwari, which he later extended by writing him another email. 
 
Vikram went on to claim that he approached Chief Proctor Ram Sewak Dubey, who is also president of Allahabad University Teachers’ Union, and Prayagraj SSP Satyarth Aniruddha Pankaj seeking help and security. Talking about the same, Dubey said that Vikram was unnecessary playing politics and making false allegations of being lynched on campus.

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Dubey, while also speaking about the complaint against Ranjeet, said that Ranjeet had also filed a complaint against Vikram, saying that he was asking him for money. He also mentioned that on Vikram’s allegation, a show-cause notice was issued to Ranjeet to which he had replied. On the basis of the same, another notice was issued to Vikram. 
 
SSP Pankaj, while commenting on the issue, said that the next course of action would be taken on the basis of Vikram’s reply to the university. Meanwhile, Ranjeet, when contacted, said that he had uploaded the video and that his intention was to promote his thought but that it was diverted in the wrong direction. He also mentioned that their differences have now been sorted out.