The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU) found itself at the centre of a controversy on Monday after a video showing two students allegedly kissing inside a classroom went viral on social media. The incident, purportedly recorded during an ongoing lecture, has prompted the university to set up a high-level Fact Finding Committee (FFC) to verify the details and recommend action if necessary. The video, which appears to have been filmed without the knowledge of those involved, shows a crowded classroom identified by university officials as belonging to the Faculty of Arts. Following the video’s circulation, the university convened an urgent meeting to constitute the probe committee. While the clip was widely shared with claims that the act took place during an examination, MSU officials clarified that preliminary observations suggest otherwise. Officer on Special Duty (Public Relations and Communication) Prof. Hitesh Raviya said, “A meeting was called by the (in-charge) Dean Professor Kalpana Gavli of the Faculty of Arts after the video came to our notice. We have identified the classroom as belonging to the Faculty of Arts, but we need to verify the video and conduct a probe before confirming anything else. The video is unclear, and the allegation of the two students indulging in an indecent act needs to be probed. From the primary observations, it does not appear to have occurred during an examination.” Raviya added that the process to form the Fact Finding Committee under the supervision of Prof Gavli was initiated on Monday “as per instructions received from the university administration.”
