500 Girl Students Claim Sexual Assault, Write To PM Modi & Haryana CM Demanding Probe
Five hundred female college students from Haryana's Sirsa have accused a professor at the Chaudhary Devi Lal University of sexual harassment. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office and Chief Minister ML Khattar, the girls complained against the accused and demanded his suspension, as well as an inquiry led by a retired High Court judge.
Copies of the letter have been sent to Vice Chancellor Dr Ajmer Singh Malik, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, and National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma, along with senior state government officials and selected media organizations.
Contents of the letter
The letter accuses the professor of "filthy and obscene acts". According to the letter, he calls girls to his office, takes them to a bathroom, and "touches private parts, and (does) obscene things with us". The girls said that when they protested, they were threatened with "very bad" consequences.
The letter claims this has been going on "for many months" and, "... because he gives a false impression of a person of high character", the professor in question has never been held accountable.
According to a report by the Times of India, the letter mentioned that the university's internal complaint committee gave the professor a clean chit twice.
The girls also claimed the Vice Chancellor, rather than coming to their aid, "threatened to expel us... because this professor is a person of immense political influence..." The Vice-Chancellor also reportedly tried to suppress the allegations by offering the girls better marks in written and practical examinations.
SIT formed
A special investigation team (SIT) is set to probe the matter, police said. "We immediately constituted the SIT under IPS officer Deepti Garg. (The SIT) is taking statements. It has already taken statements from many people," Additional Director General of Police Shrikant Jadhav said.
The SIT has already visited the university, and statements are being taken, he said.
Accused professor's statement
The accused professor has denied the sexual assault allegations against him. The professor called the accusations "political vendetta", saying, "I am being targeted because I have been active in some work at the university. I am ready to face any probe against me".
This is the fourth letter written by the students against the professor. The TOI report said that the first letter was sent to the university in June 2023. After that, the university conducted an internal investigation but found no evidence to back the allegations against him.Two more letters were sent to the Haryana Governor in November and December and he directed the university to conduct the probe, but the professor got the clean chit again.
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