St Stephen's professor accused of sexual harassment, DUTA seeks his resignation

Pic courtesy: St Stephen's College website

New Delhi: A representative of the Delhi University Teachers Union (DUTA) on Saturday demanded an impartial probe into the alleged molestation incident of girl by a Bursar of the prestigious St Stephens College.

Responding to a report appearing in the media of a St Stephens College PhD female student lodging a molestation-related complaint with the police against a professor of chemistry, Nandita Narain, the president of DUTA, said, "It (the molestation charge) should be enquired into, and I have seen in the newspaper, that the girl went to the police."

Narain further told a news agency that the girl has also not got her stipend since she filed her complaint against the professor, which in itself amounted to harassment.

"The professor, who is involved in it, is also the bursar, he should be immediately removed from this post so that these issues are enquired into in detail, and the inquiry should be impartial," Narain added.

"Since Parliament law has arrived, committees are nominated, nominated by the employers, and due to this, confidence is lacking among the students.They have to think that the previous laws are more effective, and how these laws can be used by combining with new laws so that we don't go out of the existing laws," she told ANI further.

Narain was responding to news of a PhD student of St Stephen's College going to the police on Friday with a complaint of sexual harassment against a professor, and accusing college principal Valson Thampu of trying to protect the faculty member when the matter was brought to his notice.

According to the complaint, chemistry professor Satish Kumar - who also discharges the duties of the bursar - molested the complainant on October 15, 2013.

The student has also accused him of stalking her, passing lewd remarks and making inappropriate physical contact for months before the incident.

Kumar once even threatened to "pour sulfuric acid on her if she didn't wear a yellow sari to college", the complaint read.

The woman said she stopped going to college after the incident, but Kumar called her repeatedly, stalked her on social media and sent other students to look for her, forcing to finally confide in her parents.

When the family confronted Kumar, he reportedly apologised and "promised never to repeat such behaviour", she said. But, she added, the harassment continued.

According to the FIR, the parents took their complaint to Principal Thampu in December 2014, but he dismissed the issue as a "purely academic problem".

The complainant said Thampu discouraged her from filing a sexual harassment case, giving her two options instead - "go to Delhi University's grievance redressal cell and jeopardise my degree or term the issue an academic problem".

She also accused Kumar of blocking her monthly stipend of Rs 18,000.

The student decided to approach the grievance redressal cell, which started looking into the matter on January 15. The cell is yet to reveal its findings and held its last meeting on May 19.

Unhappy with the slow pace of proceedings, the student approached the police on Friday. A magisterial hearing in the case will be held on Saturday.

Thampu has said that he is not involved in anyway, while the college says that an inquiry in the matter is nearing completion.