Mumbai: The KEM Hospital and Medical College has placed MBBS student Sejal Pawar on a 15-day forced leave and barred her from entering the hospital campus, medical college and hostel premises after a viral video clip from a stand-up comedy show triggered a controversy.
The action followed a preliminary inquiry by the institution, which found that the person seen in the viral clip was Sejal Pawar, as reported by ANI.
The statements attributed to her in the video appeared inappropriate at first glance and were considered unacceptable, officials said.
Sejal has been handed over to her family and will not be allowed to take part in academic or other college-related activities during the 15-day period, as an interim measure.
The decision was also taken keeping in mind her safety and well-being amid intense public scrutiny and reactions on social media, the institution said.
Sejal became emotional during the inquiry and was continuously crying, hospital officials said, as reported by The Times of India. She has also expressed regret in her statement.
The institution has also advised her to undergo professional counselling to prevent depression or severe psychological stress, considering the impact of the controversy on her mental health,
The KEM Hospital and Medical College has also recommended setting up a five-member committee to conduct a detailed probe into the matter.
Comprising a retired senior professor, a senior journalist and three faculty members from the medical college, the panel will examine the viral video, verify facts surrounding the case and assess the broader impact of the controversy.
It has been asked to submit its report within seven days, following which the institution and relevant authorities will decide on further action.
It was closely monitoring the situation and would avoid reaching conclusions until the investigation was complete. It added that the inquiry would be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, the administration said.
The controversy is linked to clips from a stand-up comedy show featuring comedian Pranit More. On Saturday, More addressed the backlash in an emotional video shared on Instagram, admitting that he had made a mistake during a crowd-work interaction.
“Hello, so I wanted to talk about this for a long time but my Instagram got suspended. You all must have seen my crowd work video for which I am getting a lot of hate and I think I deserve this hate because when I was doing crowd work with that guy he said a lot of derogatory things, but everyone was laughing at him so I got carried away,” More said.
Calling it a “lapse in judgement,” the comedian added, “If I wanted, I could have stopped him there, or I could have taken a stand, but what I couldn’t do. I gave him a platform because of which these things escalated. So those who have been hurt because of this, I want to apologise to all of them.”
More also confirmed that he was cooperating with authorities in the ongoing case.
“Whatever legal proceedings are being held against me, for that I am cooperating with the authorities, but I just want to request all of you… Please give me a chance, I will become a better person. This was a learning for me, so I am working on myself. I will also work on my content, and you will be able to see this in my future work,” he said.
The controversy escalated after Maharashtra Cyber registered an FIR against Pranit More, Himanshu Jangra, Sejal Pawar and others over the alleged publication and circulation of objectionable content from a stand-up comedy show held in Gurgaon and shared online.
The case relates to videos circulated on YouTube and Instagram that allegedly contained offensive remarks concerning women, consent and deceased persons, according to Maharashtra Cyber.
The MBBS student allegedly made derogatory comments regarding deceased male bodies and medical cadavers in one video clip, while another allegedly contained remarks by Himanshu Jangra that portrayed women in a derogatory manner and trivialised issues related to consent and dignity.
The FIR has been registered at the Nodal Cyber Police Station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The matter generated such controversy that Mumbai mayor Ritu Tawde called for a ban on stand-up comedy shows and said she would write to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis regarding the matter.
Fadnavis responded to this and said freedom of expression should remain protected but must be exercised responsibly.
“The Constitution of India grants everyone the freedom of expression. However, it also establishes safeguards to ensure this freedom is not misused. When expression becomes unrestrained, it infringes upon the right of individuals in society to live with dignity,” he said.
