In a shocking case, around 500 female students of Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Haryana’s Sirsa have accused a professor of sexual assault and sent a letter to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and the state women’s commission demanding action against him.
According to reports, the letter was sent on Thursday, following which the government formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations.
This is the fourth such letter written by the students after the university’s internal complaints committee gave a clean chit twice to the professor, reported the Times of India.
In the letter, the students accused the professor of filthy and obscene acts. "He calls us individually to his office bathroom and touches us inappropriately...When we protested against this, he threatened us with dire consequences,” they said.
The students alleged that the vice chancellor, instead of taking any action, threatened to expel them because the professor is a “person of immense political influence”.
"We can't write out names and contact numbers as it will malign our own image if no action is taken by the professor. The dignity of our family will be at stake. He has political influence and has threatened to get us expelled if we speak against him," the letter said.
The students also alleged that the professor had already destroyed all evidence including the CCTV footage of his office.
Confirming the receipt of the letter, University Registrar Dr Rajesh Kumar Bansal said a university committee is probing the allegations.
"Action will only be taken afterwards. Whoever is guilty will not be spared but if someone is innocent then their character should not be assassinated," he told NDTV.
The accused professor, however, dismissed the allegations, terming them politically motivated.
"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 nothing but political vendetta," he told the ToI.
