IIT-Kanpur faculty seeks action against deputy director, professor in caste case FIR

KANPUR: The faculty forum of IIT-Kanpur on Tuesday reiterated its demand of divesting deputy director and head of the aerospace department of their responsibilities as the forum believes that it was at their behest that an assistant professor, belonging to the reserved category, had got an FIR registered against four of his senior colleagues from upper castes.
An FIR under various sections including SC/ST Act was registered by Kalyanpur police against four senior professors —Rajiv Shekhar, CS Upadhyay, Ishan Sharma and Sanjay Mittal—on the complaint of Prof Subrahmanyam Saderla.
Saderla alleged in the FIR that he was harassed, mentally tortured and ridiculed by the senior colleagues in January soon after he joined as assistant professor in the aerospace department.
To avoid arrest, the senior professors moved the Allahabad high court and got a stay last week. The faculty has split in two groups—one supporting the senior professors and other standing by Saderla.
A senior faculty member of the institute told TOI, “The faculty forum on Tuesday once again requested director of the institute to divest deputy director and head, aerospace department of their responsibilities for their role in the feud between the senior professors and Prof Saderla. The forum has urged the director to take action and ensure justice in this case.”
He said the forum wants peace on the institute campus but at the same time the the vested interests who got the senior professors framed in this case should not go scot-free.
“Some professors who are in support of Prof Saderla had accompanied him to Kalyanpur police station and got the FIR registered. The entire story about passing of casteist remarks and harassment is scripted, meant to harass the four senior professors,” he added.