A professor of the Institute of Medical Sciences of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has been booked for allegedly calling Lord Parshuram a “murderer” and comparing him to Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.
In a series of Facebook posts, Om Shankar, professor of the cardiology institute of IMS-BHU, had criticised Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav for offering prayers at a temple of Lord Parshuram in Lucknow in a bid to woo the Brahmin community for the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.
As per the FIR lodged at Lanka police station in Varanasi, Mr. Shankar allegedly referred to Lord Parshuram as ‘pauranik hatyara’ (‘mythical murder’) and compared him to ‘adhunik hatyara’ (‘modern murderer’) Godse, saying there was no difference between the two.
“Those who advocate for Parshuram also advocate for Godse,” the professor allegedly wrote, sarcastically asking the SP to also unveil an idol of Godse so that “new socialism” could be born.
This would help the SP get all Brahmin votes, Mr. Shankar allegedly posted.
He was booked under Indian Penal Code Section 295a (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings) and 153a (promoting enmity between groups) and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act on the complaint of a Varanasi-based lawyer Saurabh Tiwari.
