Priya’s suspension purely on disciplinary grounds, says Govt Law College principal

Coimbatore: Principal of the Government Law College KS Gopalakrishnan on Sunday denied that first year student R Priya was suspended for speaking on the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kashmir.

“In the second hour on April 13, the English lecturer, a guest faculty, asked the students to speak on a subject-related topic. Priya, who rose to speak, accused the boys in her class of being male chauvinists. That led to a quarrel. When professor R Ammu went to inquire, Priya banged on a table, shouted at her and stopped the professor from doing her duty,” Gopalakrishnan told reporters.

However, the students who had given the complaint against Priya, said she had indeed spoken about the Kashmir incident. “She started with speaking about the minor victim and then went on to say male chauvinism was the cause. It turned into a heated argument about women’s choice of clothes. After her speech, Priya created a commotion when another boy student started speaking. Later, she also got into a quarrel with professor Ammu,” said a student, who had given a complaint against her.

Priya was suspended based on written complaints from 10 boys as well as from professor Ammu, said Gopalakrishnan. “Immediately after the suspension, we formed an inquiry committee comprising senior professors Durga Lakshmi and Kumuda, which would submit a report in two days. Now, as the issue has gained so much publicity, we would submit the report to the director of legal studies, and based on his direction, take further action,” he said.

When asked why Priya was not asked for an explanation before being suspended, Gopalakrishnan said she had not approached him on Friday. “I was expecting her to give her version, but she didn’t come. Also, as a professor had given a written complaint, I suspended her,” the principal said.

Gopalakrishnan said the suspension was issued to prevent clashes between students and also to ensure Priya’s safety. “In the past months, about seven students were suspended for various reasons. Their suspensions were revoked within a week.”

Priya had been instigating students to protest against the government, he said. “While students have the right to be part of any political outfit, they should not bring their political activities into the campus. For the past two years, the campus has been free of politics and clashes. We have been taking action to keep such incidents away from the campus,” he said.

While the students and professor Ammu, who had filed complaints against Priya were present at the press meet, there was no representation from Priya’s side.


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