EFLU Teachers Assn condemns raid on Prof Satyanarayana's house

The English and Foreign Languages University Teachers Association has condemned the police raid on their colleague Prof K Satyanarayana's house.

Satyanarayana is the son-in-law of Varavara Rao, who was arrested yesterday by a police team from Pune for his alleged links with Maoists.

A group of policemen from Pune yesterday entered the EFL University campus "without the permission of any statutory officer" and carried out a "raid" on the campus home of Satyanarayana, a press release issued by the teachers body alleged today.

As many teachers, students and staff watched in horror and dismay, they proceeded to systematically intimidate, harass and threaten Satyanarayana and his family members, it alleged.

The teachers body claimed that policemen ransacked his personal and professional belongings and seized his papers, books, computer and research material.

During the raid, the police team made vulgar and insulting remarks about universities and teachers and derogatory comments about students dress and appearance, it alleged.

"They demanded to know why Prof Satyanarayana read books by Marx and Ambedkar and why he did not display pictures of gods and goddesses instead," it said.

"This is a clear-cut project of threatening and suppressing citizens who work for Dalit, Adivasi, and other marginalized groups," it said.

"We demand an inquiry into the blatant fabrication of charges, the lies and misinformation use by the police team to facilitate the raid," the release said.

The association demanded that Satyanarayana's personal belongings and research materials that were "illegally seized" be immediately returned to him.