by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
Two TV journalists have been arrested on charges of privacy violations in the case of the professor at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, India, who was taped having gay sex in his own bedroom.
The late Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was suspended as a result of the incident and later resigned. He then was found dead in his bed on April 7, apparently poisoned, shortly after a court had ordered that he be reinstated to his job.
Police and media have said Siras took his own life but some gay activists have questioned that assumption, pointing out that Siras had been cheerful and upbeat after receiving a great deal of support in his ordeal and after winning the court case.
"The whole process had been a sort of rebirth for him, from the utter disgrace of the exposure and early newspaper reports, then the support he got from the gay and lesbian community, and even from people within AMU," one gay activist said, speaking privately. "It just seems so completely unlikely that he would commit suicide when things were going his way."
The AMU Teachers Association and LGBT activist groups have demanded that officials conduct a high-level examination of the circumstances of Siras' death.
