Bhadravati Rural police have filed cases against four employees of Kuvempu University, including a professor, on the charges of intimidating Mallika Ghanti, Vice-Chancellor of Kannada University, Hampi.
The police said B.B. Hosetti, professor with the Department of Zoology; Vijay, office superintendent; and Siddalingaiah and Salim, both first division assistants, had a conversation while travelling in a car that Ms. Ghanti, who had articulated her bold views in public against reactionary forces, should be “killed in a similar manner as Kannada scholar M.M. Kalburgi”.
Ms. Ghanti was serving as Registrar of Kuvempu University when this incident took place.
It is said that a co-passenger in the car had recorded this conversation and handed over the recording to Ms. Ghanti recently.
Ms. Ghanti contacted Shivamogga Superintendent of Police Ravi Channannanavar over the telephone on September 27 and told him that she was facing life threat from some employees of the university. She then handed over the audio recording of the conversation to him and requested him to conduct an investigation.
On Mr. Channannanavar’s directions, Bhadravathi Rural police booked cases under section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code against the four persons.
Vice-Chancellor of Kuvempu University Jogan Shankar has condemned the incident. He told presspersons that freedom of expression was a precious privilege enjoyed by the citizens in democracy and it should be protected at any cost.
The university would also conduct an internal probe into the incident, he added.
