Visva-Bharati on Thursday night sacked economics professor Sudipta Bhattacharyya, president of a teachers’ body, causing students and teachers to express outrage.

Many campus residents termed the move an “act of vengeance” by vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty, against whom Bhattacharyya had written several emails of complaint to Prime Minister Narendra Modi — chancellor of the central university — and the Union education minister.

Chakraborty’s four years at the helm have been marked by regular disciplinary proceedings, suspensions and removal of teachers and other employees, and action against students. Sections of teachers and students have accused Chakraborty of muzzling dissent and pursuing an agenda to “saffronise” an institution that had for decades carried on the liberal-humanist legacy of its founder Rabindranath Tagore.

Bhattacharyya, sacked on charges of gross misconduct five years ahead of his retirement, had led several protests by students and teachers against such actions, multiple sources on the campus said.

Acting registrar Ashok Mahato has informed Bhattacharyya that the executive council — the university’s highest decision-making body — has found him guilty of “misconduct”.

The communication referred to “misconduct by mass circulating a complaint and derogatory/ defamatory/ baseless remarks against a fellow employee and providing the copies of the same to high dignitaries by email”. It did not name the employee.

“A serving professor cannot be terminated from service without being given a chance to defend himself. The decision can be legally challenged,” said Samim Ahammed, a lawyer at Calcutta High Court who has fought several cases on behalf of Visva-Bharati employees against coercive action by the authorities.

Bhattacharyya told this newspaper he would challenge the termination in Calcutta High Court. He said he had been sacked for standing by students after Chakraborty had allegedly threatened to shoot students who had gheraoed him for around 10 hours last month. “It is my duty as a teacher to stand by my students and I will always do that. The sudden termination was the result of my protests against the VC’s whimsical activities and for daring to inform his bosses in Delhi, including the Prime Minister and the Union education minister, of all his misdeeds,” the JNU alumnus said.

A call from this newspaper to Chakraborty to seek his reactions to the allegations by Bhattacharyya remained unanswered. Asked about Bhattacharyya’s allegations, Mahua Banerjee, acting spokesperson for Visva-Bharati, would only say that “the decision has been taken by the EC”.

“The letter of termination has been served on him. He has been given 15 days to submit his representation, if any,” Banerjee added. Sources close to the authorities said they had a water-tight case against Bhattacharyya. The executive council had met on December 14 and found Bhattacharyya guilty of a “series of gross misconduct” that was “prejudicial to the interest of the university”.

The termination order said Bhattacharyya would be paid six months’ salary and “a few other benefits on humanitarian grounds”.