‘Love jihad’ charges: Lucknow’s KGMU set to sack doctor, puts up notices seeking complaints

Rameezuddin Nayak, a Junior Resident at the Department of Pathology at KGMU and enrolled for MD, has been declared an absconder with the authorities announcing a reward of Rs 50,000 for anyone giving information on him. On January 5, his parents were arrested too on charges of alleged forcible religious conversion. Authorities have begun the process of seizing Nayak’s properties.

KGMU is also set to recommend “termination of Nayak’s services”, after its internal Vishakha Committee to check sexual harassment of women at workplace found him guilty of the charges levelled against him. Nayak attended a hearing of the panel before he went “missing”. The committee has submitted its report to the Vice-Chancellor, a senior KGMU official said.

The official added: “The committee found Nayak guilty on three fronts. First, he concealed his marriage while entering into a relationship with a fellow resident. Secondly, after she came to know of the previous marriage, he stalked her. Lastly, he has been found guilty of threatening the fellow resident that he would make their relationship as well as some videos public.”

Police have said that Nayak was married to a doctor from Agra, who too has levelled charges of forceful conversion against him and his parents.

K K Singh, who is part of the probe into religious conversion set up by KGMU, said that Nayak had not just been found guilty by the university’s committee, but had also “tarnished the image of the institution” as he had been absconding for 15 days.

“He is a serving doctor and is missing. There is a bounty of Rs 50,000 on him… Ours is a century-old institution and questions are being asked which are tarnishing the image of the university,” said Singh, adding that they were acting well within the rules. “If Nayak has nothing to hide, why is he on the run?”

The Senior Professor added: “Some have alleged that faculty members too are involved in a conversion racket. These are serious allegations, and the university formed a committee to probe the same… Initially, the committee circulated an email id, asking for complaints, but it was felt people might be hesitant to reveal their identities. Hence, we are now posting notices inviting such complaints across the campus.”

At the Pathology Department where Nayak worked, no one is willing to speak about the matter, with the notices sending a chill down corridors. A professor said they had never had any reason to complain against Nayak, who was good in academics and a good resident. “He usually kept to himself,” said a Professor.

The woman colleague who has accused him of attempted conversion is his junior and also has a good record, the professor said.

The professor added that they came to know of the allegations against Nayak only when the woman made an alleged suicide attempt and was brought to the trauma centre by her colleagues.

According to sources, the woman and her parents were offered accommodation within KGMU for their security by the university administration, but the parents preferred to go back to their native state. The woman will participate in the inquiry over the phone.

A senior faculty member said that apart from Nayak, the woman too had appeared before the internal committee. “He denied allegations that he had been married before and was asked to give this in an affidavit. He has been missing since then.”

Police officials said notices had been pasted regarding seizure of Nayak’s properties at his residence in Lucknow, and at his parents’ home in Uttar Pradesh, as well as in Uttarakhand.

“Our first priority is to arrest Nayak. Different teams are spread out to look for him and have conducted raids in Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Delhi, from wherever inputs are coming. We are also looking for those who conducted his nikah with the Agra doctor,” DCP, Lucknow West, Vishwajeet Srivastava said.