A Life Insurance Corporation of India employee in Durgapur has been suspended for social media posts in which he said the killing of innocent Kashmiris hurt him more than that of soldiers and that it was “anti-national” to advocate war.

The suspension letter, issued on Saturday and signed by the senior divisional manager of LIC’s Asansol division, described the posts as “anti-national” and “tantamount to criticism of government policy”.

Krishnendu Sengupta, an upper division clerk, said on Sunday: “I expressed my opinion on social media and was receiving mixed reactions. But the way the LIC authorities suspended me was…illegal. I will move court.”

On Thursday, after the Pulwama attack that killed 40 CRPF troopers, Sengupta had written: “It may sound harsh, but I admit that killing of CRPF jawans hurts me lesser than killing of innocent Kashmiris by Indian forces….”

He further wrote: “Those who are advocating war are the actual anti-nationals. These people are not satisfied with the blood of our soldiers, they want more of our soldiers to die. These people won’t participate in war themselves, rather they would deliver lectures on false patriotism.”

At 12.15am on Saturday, LIC tweeted: “The views expressed are against the ethos of LIC values and LIC strongly condemns any anti-national conduct. The matter is being investigated and appropriate action will be initiated.”

In the suspension order, LIC said it had come to their notice that Sengupta had posted some “anti national comments on his Facebook page”. “Such remarks are in clear contravention of conduct rules and tantamount to criticism of government policy,” it added.