Srinagar, Dec 11: Strongly denouncing the arrest of Gandhi College lecturer, Noor Muhammad Bhat, Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani Saturday castigated the police for overstepping its bounds in the course of “proving its loyalty to the government.”
  “The role of police is confined to maintaining law and order, but in order to please the government the department is trying to be more loyal than the king at the cost of overstepping its duties. The arrest of Noor Muhammad Bhat is not an isolated case. Hundreds of innocent students have been arrested for expressing their opinion on the internet,” Geelani said in a statement.
 The Hurriyat leader while terming Bhat’s arrest as “dictatorial and unwarranted” said the lecturer had not committed any crime by asking questions “about the killings of innocent civilians in the question papers.”
 Bhat, who teaches English at the Gandhi Memorial College, was arrested yesterday and a case registered against him under unlawful activities for setting "controversial" questions in graduate level English papers.
 “Teachers belong to a sensitive and intelligent section of a society. How can they stay aloof from the happenings in their society? And are government employee expected to sell their conscience and not feel the pain of the sufferings of their own people? In a system where even academicians and teachers are not safe from state repression how can we expect the future of students safe and secure?” the Hurriyat(G) chairman asked.
 Geelani demanded immediate release of the lecturer.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 11 Dec 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 11 Dec 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 12 Dec 2010 00:00:00 IST