UoH faculty members' relay hunger strike enters 2nd day

Even as the relay hunger strike by two suspended faculty members of University of Hyderabad entered the second day today, the varsity said the duo had "failed" to intimate the authorities about their arrest earlier this year.
Two faculty members -- Associate Professor K Y Ratnam and Assistant Professor Tathagat Sengupta -- had yesterday launched the indefinite strike outside the university protesting against their suspension by the varsity on the ground that they had been detained (arrested) by police for more than 48 hours in March this year.
Ratnam, Head of Centre for Ambedkar Studies and faculty member of Department of Political Science and Sengupta, faculty member of Department of Mathematics, were on Monday served with suspension notice for allegedly not informing the university about their detention by police for more than 48 hours on March 22.

"It is an unjust suspension and we (Ratnam and Sengupta) are continuing with the relay hunger strike," Ratnam told PTI, adding that students, faculty members and civil society have expressed solidarity with them.
Meanwhile, six students from different city-based universities joined the faculty members in their protest today.
The SC/ST Teachers Forum had also alleged that the university's action against the two faculty members was taken "in a fit of vindictiveness" and sought revocation of their suspension.
K Y Ratnam and Tathagat Sengupta were suspended from the services at the University of Hyderabad strictly in accordance with the Rule 10 of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, a release from UoH said.

UoH said as per the rule "a government servant, shall be deemed to have been placed under suspension by an order of Appointing Authority with effect from the date of his detention, if he is detained in custody, whether on a criminal charge or otherwise, for a period exceeding forty-eight hours".