Judicial probe demanded into gay AMU teacher’s death

ALIGARH - The Aligarh Muslim University Teachers’ Association Saturday wrote to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati and the human resource development (HRD) ministry demanding a judicial probe into the death of a gay varsity teacher.

“A judicial enquiry must be ordered to probe the death of our colleague S.R. Siras. In this regard, we have sent a memorandum to the chief minister and the HRD ministry,” Jamshed Siddique, the association’s secretary, told reporters here.

Siras was found dead in his private home here Wednesday. He was suspended by the university on charges of “gross misconduct” on campus after he was filmed during a consensual homosexual act with a rickshaw puller.

Mystery shrouds death of Siras, with police saying Thursday that preliminary investigations revealed that he died “an unnatural death” while autopsy failed to fix the exact cause.

“The case is really sensitive. Anything less than a judicial enquiry will not satisfy us and if there is a need we will even meet the chief minister Mayawati and HRD minister Kapil Sibal to get the enquiry initiated,” Siddique added.

Siras had also moved the high court against his suspension. The court had stayed his suspension as well as the varsity’s order of vacating his official accommodation on April 1.

Siras was associated with the AMU since 1988 as a lecturer of Marathi and was promoted as reader in 2003.