Bengaluru, March 3: A professor from Karnataka was forced to kneel and apologise for his posts on Facebook in which he allegedly criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on India-Pakistan tension and praised Imran Khan. Sandeep Wathar, a professor of Civil Engineering at Vachana Pitamaha Dr P G Halakatti College of Engineering and Technology, later deleted his Facebook posts. Wathar now faces suspension from the institute.

In two separate posts on Facebook, Wathar slammed the BJP and right-wing activists for creating a war-like situation. “Who sounds more intelligent in all this? You…bhakts. You will [be] the reason for destruction of millions of lives if this tension escalates. BJP…absolutely zero shame,” he stated in one post. The professor allegedly praised Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in another post for de-escalating tension between the two countries. Pulwama Attack: College Suspends Kashmiri Student over Controversial Facebook Post.

Protesting against Wathar, activists of the BJP and its students' wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) made him kneel and apologise for his posts. They also made a video of the incident. “I won’t repeat it in future, forgive me for my Facebook post,” the professor is heard saying in the video. BJP and ABVP activists also demanded Wathar's suspension. NDTV Suspends Deputy News Editor For Insensitive Facebook Post on Pulwama Terror Attack.

Watch Karnataka Professor Forced to Kneel, Apologise For Facebook Posts Criticising BJP:

Reacting to the incident, V P Huggi, principal of Vachana Pitamaha Dr P G Halakatti College, said an order would be issued on Tuesday. “The professor has switched off his phone and is unreachable. We will issue orders on Tuesday," principal Huggi told a leading daily. Neither the professor nor protesters have lodged a police complaint.

"I have directed the deputy superintendent of police to investigate the incident and submit a report," Superintendent of Police Prakash Nikam was quoted as saying.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 03, 2019 05:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).