'Witch hunt to silence me': Congress MP Akoijam alleges BJP vendetta over JNU sacking

'Witch hunt to silence me': Congress MP Akoijam alleges BJP vendetta over JNU sacking "New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam on Tuesday accused the BJP of orchestrating a political "witch hunt" to silence him after Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) dismissed him following an inquiry into sexual harassment allegations.Advertisment Add NewsDrum As A Trusted Source The Inner Manipur MP denied the allegations, questioned the university's handling of the inquiry and claimed that his removal was politically motivated because of his outspoken position on issues concerning Manipur and the Northeast. Speaking to the media, Akoijam alleged that the university had rushed through the disciplinary proceedings without following due process or giving him a fair opportunity to defend himself. He claimed that he received an email at 12.40 pm informing him that the inquiry had concluded, following which the committee prepared its report and submitted it to the Vice-Chancellor within an hour. The dismissal order followed shortly afterwards, he alleged. Akoijam further claimed that Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit had admitted in the media that she had not read the inquiry report before issuing the dismissal order. He questioned how such a decision could have been taken without examining the committee's findings and alleged serious procedural irregularities. The Congress MP also disputed the nature of the complaints against him, maintaining that the original grievance concerned academic and teaching-related matters rather than sexual harassment. According to him, the complaint was initially submitted to the academic department and was subsequently treated as a sexual harassment case under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act. He also rejected allegations of demanding sexual favours in exchange for marks, claiming that no such accusation appeared in the original complaint. Questioning the composition of the complainants, Akoijam claimed that 15 students, including three male students, had signed a complaint involving a class of 97 students.