Narendra Nayak

Professor

Mangaluru

HRDA has issued an urgent appeal to the National Human Rights Commission of India regarding the attempt on the life of rationalist and human rights defender Prof. Narendra Nayak in Mangalore district of Karnataka. Prof. Nayak is a well-known rationalist and sceptic who has also exposed pseudo ‘godmen’. He is a post-graduate in Medical Biochemistry and worked as an Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the Centre for Basic Sciences, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, until 25 November, 2006.

On 15 March, 2017 at 6.25 am, the eminent rationalist was heading towards Ladyhill from Lalbagh. He was heading towards the Mangala Swimming Pool for a swim when two strangers who were on a bike stopped in front of his car. They told Prof. Nayak that his car tyres were punctured. Prof. Nayak, who had checked the tyres before starting, sensed something was amiss and drove away without getting down from the car, thus defeating the ploy of the miscreants.

Prof. Nayak is facing a threat to life since he took up the Baliga murder case. He has lodged a complaint with the Barke police and the case has been entrusted to the CCB police. Following the incident, he has been provided 24-hour protection by police gunmen. It is to be noted that last year, on 9 May 2016, Prof. Nayak got a similar threat to his life in an online chat after the killing of RTI activist Panduranga Baliga, allegedly by a Kashi Math follower, Mr. Shashank Shenoy.