West Bengal Professor Marries Student in Classroom, Sparks Controversy

A controversy over a video of a wedding between a professor and a first-year student inside a classroom in West Bengal’s Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology (Makaut) has forced an inquiry by the varsity and a public discourse.
The video features Payal Banerjee, an assistant professor of applied psychology, seen in traditional bridal attire performing Bengali Hindu traditional wedding rituals with a student. The video went viral immediately, which elicited very mixed reactions to the social media.
After sometime, Banerjee clarified, it was in a “wedding psychodrama” scheduled under the newcomers welcome program where a drama happened as part of freshers welcoming, she contended that they didn’t do real marriage also she filed police complaints against colleague circulated the videos that had ill-intention that harm her, too.

University Opens Case End

As a response to the event, the university suspended Banerjee and set up a five-member inquiry panel to probe into the matter. Interim Vice-Chancellor Tapas Chakrabarty added that though the incident took place on January 16, it was circulated only online on January 28.

Academic Ethics and Social Media Debate

This brings up questions about what is acceptable or appropriate within the walls of academia and if it leads to unintended consequences for sharing content without providing complete context.

The discussion continues on professional conduct, personal boundaries, and the role of social media in academia.

Watch for further updates on this emerging story.