Gangadhar Meher University warns students from false reports on social networking sites

Following the arrest of an assistant professor on a charge of sexually exploiting a girl student, Gangadhar Meher University put out an announcement asking students to desist from spreading false information or identifying people on social media or group sites.

In a formal advisory on Friday evening, the university requested students not to speculate or post unwarranted content on the case. "Since the case has been directly reported to the police, we do not have details of names of individuals except for the prime accused. Naming any individual, speculating and posting unverified information could cause harm to individuals and also to the institution," the notice read.

The students were instructed to stay clear of rumours and internet speculation and concentrate on studies and the developmental activities of the university.

The latest advisory of the university seems intended to check misinformation as administrative and legal proceedings take their course. This is exactly a day after the university's internal complaints committee (ICC) called for an emergency meeting to discuss campus safety following the arrest.

The meeting resulted in a series of institutional actions including advisories to faculty members regarding professional behavior, hostel awareness campaigns, issuance of informational leaflets and periodic monitoring of ICC activities. Contact information of ICC members was also released by the university so that students with difficulties could find access easily.

Conversely, in the backdrop of the ongoing probe into the behavior of the accused assistant professor, there is a growing need to probe his background and validity of his appointment at the university. After the accused teacher was appointed at GMU in 2020, he had been challenged by one Sambhu Sankar Deep of Balangir in the high court. Deep accused that while he possessed a PhD and the accused was only NET-qualified, the latter had been appointed as assistant professor - indicating a procedural fault.

The arrest of the assistant professor has also fomented a political spat on the campus, with the ABVP accusing Suna of having connections to the BCJD. The student group pointed to his earlier social media posts containing BJD leaders and BCJD members as proof.

Accused Gopikant Suna (32), assistant professor of the department of Education, was arrested on July 17 on the complaint of a 20-year-old second-year BA BEd student who accused the teacher of repeatedly exploiting her on the pretext of marrying her. Suna has also been suspended pending further proceedings.