Police on Monday arrested the dean, programme coordinator and seven students of Jain (Deemed-to-be-University) over a controversial skit on Dr B R Ambedkar.
Dinesh Nilkant, Dean, Faculty of Management and Director (Admissions), Prateek, Programme Coordinator, and seven students have been arrested, said P Krishnakant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). Police declined to give details about the students, citing their academic future and safety. Police produced them before the magistrate and secured their custody for three days.
The skit was performed by the students at a college fest organised by the university at Nimhans Convention Centre on February 8. It allegedly contained offensive references to Ambedkar and Dalits. A video of the event was widely shared on social media.
Two days later, Madhu Sudan K N, Assistant Director of the Social Welfare Department, Bengaluru South, filed a complaint with the Siddapura police against the dean, principal, programme organiser, students, skit writers and others. Police subsequently opened a case under various IPC sections as well as the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
In their defence, the suspects told the police that they neither intended to insult Ambedkar in any manner nor knew that the skit would put them in trouble.