From rxpgnews.com
MSU student granted bail amid parallel protest demos
By IANS,
May 14, 2007 - 4:59:30 PM
Vadodara, May 14 - Chandramohan, a senior fine arts student of Maharaja Sayajirao University - here was released on bail Monday, five days after he was arrested for alleged obscene portrayal of religious figures.
A court here released the postgraduate student from Andhra Pradesh on a bond of Rs.5,000.
Chandramohan's works, prepared as part of his studies and not meant for public exhibition, depicted several Hindu gods and goddesses as well as Jesus Christ in allegedly obscene postures.
Activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad -, the student wing of Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party -, had Wednesday barged into the MSU fine arts department - renowned as one of the centres of India's modern art - and vandalised the exhibits there.
While some Christian groups also protested the student's works, his fellow students and faculty as well as several prominent artists who studied here came out in his support.
MSU authorities later suspended Fine Arts Faculty dean Shivaji Panikkar after he stood up in support of the student.
Meanwhile, the campus Monday witnessed parallel demonstrations - students and faculty of the fine arts department along with several artists formed a human chain, holding placards with slogans upholding freedom of expression, even as ABVP activists held a demonstration.
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