2 Faculty members suspended by Hyderabad University

Hyderabad: The University of Hyderabad (UoH) on Monday suspended two of its faculty members on the ground that they had been detained by police for more than 48 hours in March this year.

According to the University Registrar M Sudhakar, besides suspending the two faculty members - K Y Ratnam and Thathagata Sengupta - a notice has also been issued to them for not informing the university about their detention. The Executive Council (EC) of the university took the decision to suspend them in its meeting held last Monday and the suspension orders were issued today (Monday), he said.

While Ratnam is an Associate Professor in the Political Science department, Sengupta is an Assistant Professor in Mathematics department. Both of them have been actively involved in students' activities.

"We do not know whether they (the two teaching faculty) were in police custody or judicial custody. The EC met today and took a decision to suspend them for being under detention for 48 hours. They were also issued notices for not informing about their detention officially to the University authorities," Sudhakar said.

As per the rule, a government servant accused of crime, is liable to be suspended if he/she is under (either police or judicial) custody for more than 48 hours, another senior government official said.

UoH Vice-Chancellor Appa Rao Podile, who had gone on a leave at the height of an agitation over the suicide of research scholar Rohith Vemula, had resumed office on March 23 amid protests from a section of students, who ransacked his official residence leading to tension on the campus. Twenty five students and two faculty members had been held in connection with ransacking and stone pelting on police personnel.

According to Sudhakar, the EC meeting was convened last week, for the first time after Podile resumed his office on March 23.