Hyderabad: A Dalit faculty member from Delhi University had alleged that she was slapped by a peer. A complaint has been filed against professor Ranjit Kaur and the principal of the University of Delhi on Monday by Dr. Neelam, an associate professor in the Hindi department of Lakshmibai college.
Dr. Neelam has claimed that Kaur slapped her during a meeting and she was thus attacked because of her Dalit identity. Claiming that Kaur always had an issue with her caste, she added that the Kaur wanted all the attendees of a department meeting to sign the minutes (of a meeting) without reading them. However, when she insisted on reading the minutes, she was slapped as Kaur was in a hurry to conclude the meeting.
The Dalit faculty member further alleged that while she attempted to submit her complaint to the college principal Pratyush Vatsala, it was refused until activists and other professors pressurized him to act on it.
However, Kaur filed a counter-complaint against Neelam stating that he was assaulted by her as he attempted to take the register away. Speaking to the Indian Express, Kaur said, “During the tussle, it is possible my hand hit her face but it was not intentional.” It is worth noting that Kaur’s complaint came after Dr. Neelam had registered the incident with the police. Dr. Neelam’s complaint was filed at Bharat Nagar police station.