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Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha last week ordered the sacking of Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit, Prof of chemistry at Kashmir University, terming him a "threat to the security of the state".
The administrator of the union territory terminated Dr Pandit's services under Article 311(2)(c), which allows the government to sack him without seeking an explanation from his employees or investigating his conduct.
Police claimed that Dr Pandit was sacked for his links to terrorism in the past. Police sources said the chemistry professor had gone to Pakistan for arms training in the early 1990s, but he shunned militancy soon after returning to the Valley.
"Nothing wrong has happened against him in recent years, but he is suspected of having been close to some members of Jamaat-e-Islami," a police officer said.
Dr Pandit - who has served as a member of the Sub-Committee on New Education Policy (NEP), 2020 - is an award-winning scientist and a member of the editorial board of publications such as Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences and Computer Simulation in Applications, and LifeScience Global Publishing Company in Canada.
Pandit's employment was terminated under Article 311(2)(c), which allows the government to sack its employees without seeking an explanation or an inquiry into their conduct. According to the police, the professor was dismissed on Friday for having links with terrorism.
Who is Dr Altaf Hussain Pandit?
As a university professor, separatist Altaf Hussain Pandit has a PhD in Applied Chemistry from Aligarh Muslim University. He joined Kashmir University in 2004 as an assistant professor. Growing up in Vadura village of Sopore, Pandit was under strong influence of Jamaat-e-Islami since childhood.
According to his CV uploaded on the Kashmir University website, Dr. Pandit is the recipient of the Young Scientist Award from the Indian Chemical Society and an award by the Atomic Energy Commission of India. He worked as the Coordinator of the Special Assistance Program UGC-SAP of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and J&K Coordinator for the National Science Olympiad Programme.
He has served as a member of the Board of PhD Examiners for Delhi University and Jamia Millia Islamia University.
Pandit began his career as a teacher in Kashmir in 1999 and was appointed a scientist in the Pollution Control Board. In 2001, he was appointed a lecturer at the University of Kashmir and became an assistant professor three years later. According to the Indian Express report, he was to be appointed the head of the department when the termination order was issued.
He completed PhD in Applied Chemistry in 2000, MPhil in 1995 and Masters in Science from Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh in 1993.
Pandit has also been a member of the board of PhD examiners at Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia University and Vikram University in Ujjain. The Professor of Chemistry has published more than 60 papers in national and international scientific journals and has a citation count of over 1,450.
Allegations against Dr Pandit
"The Lieutenant Governor, after considering the facts and circumstances of the case and on the basis of available information, is satisfied that Altaf Hussain Pandit, Professor in the Department of Chemistry, University of Kashmir son Ghulam Hasan Pandit resident of Vadodara Bala Sopore is such a person who warrants his dismissal from service. give,” the order of the government was said.
According to a dossier on Pandit, he was an active terrorist associated with the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front from 1990 to 1993 and is accused of organizing several student protests against the state, including after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani in 2016. . He earned the nickname "Geelani of Kashmir University" because of his separatist agenda.
He ensured that the students of Kashmir participated in violent protests driven by separatists and Pakistanis through a combination of fear, partisanship and propaganda. According to a report in The Times of India, the agencies claimed that they were saddened by the fact that no university students had died during the 2016 protests, which claimed over 120 lives.
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