Babu forced to delete Facebook post calling for support to Kanhaiya Kumar and Rohith Vemula

RAIPUR: Balrampur district collector, Alex Paul Menon, who was held captive by Maoists for 12 days in May 2012, was on Friday reportedly forced to delete his Facebook 'shares' of articles that called for support to Jawaharlal Nehru Student Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and Hyderabad scholar Rohith Vemula after objections from bureaucrats and BJP officials.

Menon had shared more than 12 articles on Rohith and Kanhaiya on his Facebook page. He had also expressed solidarity with the two through a post on Twitter.

When contacted, Menon, known for his pioneering work in Maoist-hit regions in Chhattisgarh, was upset and rued the fact that the media does not talk about the "good being done by bureaucrats", and instead reports on their social media activity.

"I have not extended support to either Kanhaiya or Rohith. These were just a few articles which I shared. I am a government servant and my loyalty is with my government," Menon said.

Last month, the social media posts of another collector in Chhattisgarh had created a furore. Bastar's Amit Kataria had written a Facebook post alleging that the attack on tribal rights activist Soni Sori was staged. The post drew criticism, after which he was forced to remove it.

"Being a government servant, Menon cannot extend support to those charged with sedition (Kanhaiya). When the matter was raised by bureaucrats and party officials, he was asked to delete the posts," said a state BJP functionary.

While Rohith, a Dalit PhD scholar in University of Hyderabad, committed suicide after he was suspended from hostel for an alleged attack on an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad member, Kanhaiya was arrested by police and also roughed up by lawyers for taking part in a protest against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.