The MS University in Vadodara has suspended an associate professor of the Hindi department, based on the recommendation of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the Women Grievance Redressal Cell (WGRC), after a student filed a complaint of alleged “indecent advances” earlier this month.
The associate professor has been accused of harassment by a student, who stated in her complaint that she was “offended” by his “behaviour, words and gestures”.
University officials said that the student had first approached the faculty dean with a complaint, who then referred her to the WGRC, where she lodged an official complaint earlier this month.
MSU Registrar Krishnakumar Chudasma told The Indian Express that the suspension of the accused associate professor on Friday was part of the primary punitive action, pending the final report of the ICC, which will be submitted to the university’s executive council when the investigation is complete.
Chudasma said, “The female student of the same department has complained of alleged misbehaviour by this associate professor. She was offended by words, behaviour and gestures, although there was no physical harm involved… The matter was referred to the WGRC, which has an internal complaints committee, and in the primary investigation, it was found that a serious kind of offence had occurred. The committee recommended a primary punitive action and we decided to suspend the associate professor on Friday. The ICC will submit its final report to the executive council on completing the inquiry.”
Chudasma said that the complaint of the student had been “immediately looked into”. He added, “So far, two hearings have happened in the case and now both sides will be given a detailed hearing in order to arrive at a conclusion in the case to decide further action. The associate professor has been attached to the university for a long time and this is the first such official complaint of indecent advances. It could be possible that previous such cases, if any, were not officially reported.”
The MSU management also sealed the office of the accused associate professor on Saturday.
While Professor Bhavna Mehta, who heads the WGRC, was unavailable for comment, a university official told this newspaper, “The female student has alleged that the teacher in question was pursuing her for a relationship and even promising marriage in lieu of giving her marks in the upcoming exams. She has alleged that she was being pressured and had no way to deal with the problem than to complain to her faculty dean, who then referred her to the grievance cell.”
On Saturday, members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) staged a demonstration against the associate professor in the department. ABVP cornered the dean and vice dean, demanding strict action against the associate professor, and also disrupted the Uttarayan celebrations in the department. Harshil Rabari, ABVP convener of Vadodara, said, “We have demanded strict action…Such an act cannot be tolerated. We will stand by the student…”
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