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 features the senior professor, 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.
The video, which went viral on social media, sparked immense backlash.
Now, the professor has sent an e-mail to the Registar's office offering her resignation "in view of the current situation" surrounding 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 video's circulation, the professor was asked to go on leave, and she submitted her resignation email on February 1, which is currently under review.
"We will let you know our decision at the right time," Lahiri said.
In the video, the professor is seen wearing a bridal outfit inside a classroom at the Haringhata campus of MAKAUT in West Bengal's Nadia district.
However, the professor claimed that the marriage ritual was 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.
The teacher said she would take legal steps to address the issue.
MAKAUT had 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, according to 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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