India, May 14 -- Two days after he was summoned for his Operation Sindoor remarks "disparaging women in the armed forces and promoting communal disharmony", Ali Khan Mahmudabad, an associate professor of Sonepat-based Ashoka University, failed to appear before the Haryana State Commission for Women in Panchkula on Wednesday.

Commission chief Renu Bhatia said: "Mahmudabad was summoned to appear before the panel at its Panchkula office at 10am. We waited for him till 3pm, but he did not turn up. Instead, around 3pm, he intimated us on e-mail that he had received our notice very late due to which he was unable to make it. This is a mere excuse to avoid appearance. Is Sonepat so far away? I have staff coming to Panchkula from Sonepat daily. ...