PANJIM: A group of academicians, authors, lawyers, engineers, activists and individuals have written to Goa Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari requesting to direct the State government to provide security to professor Shilpa Singh, who is being probed by the Panjim police for hurting religious sentiments.
The Singh supporters have expressed their concern over intimidation and threat by certain elements “because of her ideas that she has expressed and feels extremely vulnerable due to the assault on her dignity as a woman on account of the views she holds.”
“We have a strong reason to believe this is being done at the behest of some extreme reactionary, right wing groups in Goa under whose pressure police have bowed to, to register an FIR against her. We write at this time to express our solidarity with Singh, who was initially intimidated with a complaint by Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad Goa Unit Secretary, Prabha Naik, for articulating hateful thoughts against a religion in her Political Theory lectures,” the letter states.
The group had complained that Singh promotes “socially hateful thoughts about a particular religion” and had sought her termination in 24 hours failing which they threatened agitation and a police complaint. The letter reads that the committee set up by the college declared that the group had no standing to demand her removal. The college had already informed the complainant that it does not have a “locus standi” to raise objections about her teaching, and that no termination order will be issued against her.
To her post which was objectionable, Singh had deleted it thereafter and expressed her regrets stating that ‘I wish to express my regret to my fellow women if any of my Facebook posts have caused them hurt and offended them’.
Supporters of Singh stated they are concerned that despite this an FIR was registered against her under Section 295-A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings) of IPC.
Claiming that there is no basis for registering an FIR against Singh as her post is within the ambit of the Constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech and expression, the letter states that the attack is a politically motivated move to foment communal discord and to disrupt peace in Goa as well as distract from challenging the economic crisis.
“We therefore request you to intervene in the matter and direct the State authorities to provide round-the-clock protection to Singh against the imminent threat to her life and liberty from the reactionary groups against her in Goa and due justice be delivered to her,” it further said.
