India: 500 students accuse Haryana professor of sexual harassment; probe underway

Around 500 female students from a university in the Indian state of Haryana have reportedly accused a professor of sexual harassment. The students have also written to the state’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the governor, and the women’s commission to take action against the professor from the Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Sirsa.

About the allegations

According to reports, the students have accused the professor of sexually exploiting them for days after calling them to his chamber.

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The letter written by the students began making rounds on social media and has since prompted the local police to set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the allegations. The recent letter was the fourth one written by the students against the same professor.

CDLU registrar Rajesh Bansal has since claimed that the university officials had received anonymous letters last year too but the allegations have repeatedly been found to be false following an internal committee’s probe.

“This time, the allegations are more serious as 500 female students were mentioned in the letter and we are cooperating with the police in the case,” said Bansal.

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According to media reports, university officials first received the letter against the accused teacher in June last year and two anonymous letters were sent to the Haryana governor in 2023.

“He calls us individually to his office bathroom and touches us inappropriately...When we protested against this, he threatened us with dire consequences,” thestudents alleged in the recent letter.

It also said that the professor had destroyed all evidence, including the CCTV footage of his room.

“We can’t write out names and contact numbers as it will malign our image if no action is taken against 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 added.

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The SIT probe is being led by Sirsa ASP Deepti Garg and three women inspectors. The ASP said that they recorded statements of some professors on Saturday (Jan 7) but many teachers did not appear before the police personnel.

Accused professor responds to allegations

The accused professor has since denied the allegations against him and called it a false malicious campaign against him. He added, “I am being targeted by some people because of my activeness in university work. I am ready for any probe. This is political vendetta.”

(With inputs from agencies)