A Kannada lecturer in a government PU college has received a notice seeking an explanation over his controversial social media post, ridiculing the Chandrayaan-3 mission.
Meanwhile, people are trolling Hulikunte Murthy, a lecturer at the government PU college in Malleswaram, Bengaluru. His wife is being harassed with a barrage of messages on her social media account.
Murthy has filed a police complaint against at least 30 people. He also claimed to be receiving threat messages and calls.
Former School Education & Literacy Minister S Suresh Kumar had written to the government, urging that Murthy be warned.
Deputy Director of PU Education Palakshappa said, "We issued a notice to the lecturer on Wednesday, following directions from the director of the department. Further action will be based on the explanation we receive from him."
Puja to model
Speaking to DH, Murthy said: "It is for the first time in 14 years of my teaching career that I'm facing something like this. I've never faced such a situation. The intention of my post was not to hurt anybody's sentiments. We are people who teach lessons based on the life of people like Prof H Narasimhaiah. When I saw great scientists conducting puja to the (Chandrayaan-3) model, I felt bad."
Murthy said he deleted the post the very next day, realising its impact.
"The post was there on my Facebook wall for 15 hours. While I haven't used Twitter for the last three years, people are alleging that I posted there too and are trolling me. Some even called and threatened me. My wife, too, has received threatening messages," he said.
Murthy's Facebook account is now blocked, after it was reported by multiple people.
"I am ready to apologise. I've posted the same on my Instagram as my Facebook is blocked. The department has sought an explanation and I will give one," he said.
Murthy, who is a Dalit activist and writer, had posted in Kannada that the Chandrayaan-3 mission would be a failure, using the phrase 'Tirupati Nama'.
A team of ISRO scientists had offered prayers at the Tirupati temple with a miniature model of Chandrayaan-3.