OU forms panel to probe ‘shoe throwing’ incident

Hyderabad: Osmania University has toughened its stance against students’ violent behavior towards Faculty members following the “shoe throwing incident” at Prof. M. Kumar Principal, University College of Engineering by a Research Scholar awaiting award of his degree.

A sub-committee has been constituted to suggest the next course of action on this specific issue and behavior related problems even as the administration lodged a police complaint against the Ph.D Scholar.

The University said such incidents which cross all limits of decency and impair the student- teacher relationship would be dealt stringently according to the University rules and the law of the land. The University works in the best interests of the students but a few miscreants indulge in such behavior. It has warned such students not to misconstrue such positivity as weakness as the University can come down heavily on anyone spoiling the academic atmosphere on the campus.

Protesting against the incident, the College Faculty went on strike and the top administration convened a meeting of all Principals, Deans, Directors to elicit their suggestions on the issue.

University officials said that though the scholar received TEQUIP Scholarship of around 5,00,000 for three years (18,000/Month) he failed to pay hostel dues to the extent of Rs. 53,000/- and was pressurizing the Principal and other officials to issue the press notification on the award of his doctorate.

The incident happened when the scholar, who had earlier requested for waiving of his dues entered the Principal’s chamber and picked up an argument. Even as the Principal was counselling him of the rule position, the scholar, threw his shoe and menacingly moved toward him. He was forcibly evicted from the Principal’s chamber when the support staff were alerted.