'Don't Regret It': UP Teacher Sacked Allegedly For Joining Jantar Mantar Protest

"I went for the students, faced lathis but now I've lost my job," says Dr Mohit Bhardwaj on his sudden termination.

A day after returning to his hometown Bareilly from Delhi, Dr Mohit Bharadwaj, 32, went to Ganna Utpadak PG College where he teaches Commerce as an Assistant Professor. As soon as he reached, he was told that he has been fired.

Reason? For attending the Jantar Mantar protest on 20 July, he claims. But Bhardwaj told The Quint that he was neither informed beforehand nor given any notice regarding his resignation.

"I was called to Principal office and he informed me that they had seen my video from the 20 July student protest in Delhi. And then I was told my services are terminated. Just like that."

Dr Mohit Bhardwaj to The Quint

This is the first reported case we know of a teacher being sacked from their job for reportedly attending the CJP-led protest. In June, a teacher from Haryana, Sulekha Dalal was suspended and later on, reinstated for participating in the student protests.

It has come as a shock to Bhardwaj, the breadwinner of his family who has two little sons. He is also the youth leader of Samajwadi Party in the town. As for his qualifications, he has a PhD in Physical Education and Commerce and had received NET JRF for his PhD research.

"I understand the pain of these children. Almost every examination paper is getting leaked. If a student gives his all to one exam, but there is re-exam, is there a surety he/she will be able to get good numbers again? Students have told me their woes too. So I decided to join the protest," he said.

In videos accessed by The Quint, Bhardwaj could be heard sloganeering: "Whenever Modi gets scared, he pushes the police forward, and "Dharmendra Pradhan, give your resignation." These are some of the most common slogans we have heard at Jantar Mantar in these protests.

I know a student who took the Police exam paper, I cross-checked and it came to 95 marks, but he got only 64 marks. I have also been student once, I am still young. It hurts me to see them being beaten with lathis by the police.

Dr Mohit Bhardwaj to The Quint

Bhardwaj has completed two years at the Ganna Utpadak PG College which is affiliated to the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Rohilkhand University.

He said that he faced lathis and tear-gas during the 20 July protest which had witnessed a brutal police crackdown on the protestors leaving several injured and hospitalised, as The Quint also reported.

Bhardwaj said the decision to remove him was not officially taken by the University but the Chairman of the Ganna college society, Rajendra Kumar.

The Quint accessed the letter handed to him by the committee stating, "You are informed that, after receiving repeated complaints about you, the committee has decided to expel you from the college with immediate effect. Therefore, you are expelled from the college..."

The reason given for his termination is false and misleading, alleges Bhardwaj.

He told The Quint, "I have had no complaints from any students in the two years that I have been here. There has been no notice, no departmental inquiry set up against me. Do I not have the freedom to go wherever I want?"

Moreover, Bhardwaj said that after he was sacked, many students were also shocked and reached out him.

"The WhatsApp groups were filled with messages expressing concern and solidarity from the students. But then I was removed from those groups by the HoD. When I questioned the HoD, she said, 'You are a good teacher but if I don't remove you from these groups then I will be sacked too.'"

Reading the messages of students has also strengthened his resolve to fight for the students.

"I have no regrets that I stood with the students. I had tears in my eyes reading messages of my students who were shocked that I have been sacked from my job," he said.

'My Heart Is With The Students'

But why did Bhardwaj choose to go to the Protest?

As it turns out, even reaching Delhi for the protest was not a cakewalk for him.

"Responding to Sonam Wanghuk's call, I posted on Facebook on 18 July that I will join the 20 July march. That evening, the police came to my doorstep. I climbed over the wall of my house and went to the railway station and then left for Delhi with some students," recalled Bhardwaj.

The police visiting his home and then being sacked for reportedly attending the protest has left Bhardwaj shaken.

"The protests are not limited to CJP, it belongs to the people, the students. It's not any official Party that i went to give support to, then how is that a crime?" he questioned.

The Teacher Demands Answers

Bhardwaj has written to the Manager of the college society as well as the District Magistrate about his undue expulsion.

He has stated in the letters that there have been no details of any complaints against him, nor any mentions of any investigation or any clear and legitimate reason for sacking him.

In these letters, he has demanded verified copies of the alleged complaints, copy of any departmental inquiry if it was conducted, details of any show-cause notice or charge-sheet and the proceedings of the meeting where the decision to fire him was taken.

"They have ignored the University approval, my appointment, my character certificate. The necessary approval of the Vice Chancellor/University was required before my termination, which was not obtained," he pointed out.

Interestingly, the Principal of the college had issued a character certificate to him in May 2026, clarifying his conduct and praising him adding that he has duly discharged his duties.

Further, Bhardwaj alleged that Rajendra Kumar, the chairman of the college society has ties with the BJP.

The Quint has also accessed photographs of Kumar with some local BJP leaders like MP Chhatrapal Gangwar and was also seen in events organised by the RSS.

Speaking to The Quint, Principal Harikesh Singh told us, "The termination is the sole decision of the manager of the college. Procedure should be followed and Jantar Mantar protest should not be the base of action." But did not provide any further details.

The Quint also reached out to Rajendra Kumar, but we are yet to receive a response from him.