A female professor of a university in West Bengal, who went viral on social media for ‘marrying’ a student inside a classroom, has offered to resign following the backlash over the video, reported PTI on Wednesday.
The video of the senior professor, the head of the department of Applied Psychology at the state-run Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (MAKAUT), observing Hindu Bengali marriage rituals with a first-year student of her department inside a classroom went viral on social media, drawing immense backlash.
Now, the professor has sent an e-mail to the Registar’s office offering her resignation “in view of the current situation” over of the circulation of the video, which left her “mentally devastated,” MAKAUT Registrar Partha Pratim Lahiri told PTI.
“She has referred to the incident and thanked MAKAUT for allowing her the opportunity to work with the institution for the past few years,” Lahiri said.
Following the circulation of the video, the professor has been asked to go leave and she informed about her resignation on February 1, which is currently under process.
“We will let you know our decision at the right time,” Lahiri said.
The professor was seen wearing a bridal outfit in the video that was shot inside the classroom at the Haringhata campus of MAKAUT in West Bengal’s Nadia district.
However, the professor claimed that the marriage ritual is part of a play enacted as part of a psycho-drama project, which was conducted with the consent of students and the university.
The professor alleged that her colleague deliberately leaked a part of the video to malign and sabotage her career. She also plans to take legal action.
The teacher said she would take legal steps to address the issue.
The University has formed a five-member all-woman inquiry panel that refuted the professor’s claims that the video was part of a psycho-drama project for documentation, the report said, citing a University official.
“It was nothing but a cheap skit of a freshers’ welcome programme and inappropriate for a senior teacher,” the Officiating Vice-Chancellor, Tapash Chakraborty, told PTI.
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