Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) on Monday, April 29, alleged that a female student was sexually harassed by a teacher, and inaction by the administration over the complaint forced her to leave the campus. JNUSU alleged that another complaint accusing the same teacher of “sexual and mental harassment” by the woman’s batchmates also did not elicit an action by the internal complaints committee of JNU.
They demanded that the administration expedite the proceedings of the complaints filed by the students and take action against the accused teacher.
“The professor in question has harassed the woman through constant messages and calls, including lewd poems and requests for personal meetings. Upon her refusal to submit to him, he allegedly threatened her of failing his paper. The professor then went on to harass other female students so as to know about the survivor’s whereabouts. The survivor was forced to leave the campus,” the students’ union alleged.
Vandana Mishra, ICC presiding officer, told PTI that an inquiry was under way and necessary steps were being taken. “The due process of inquiry is undergoing. The required action/steps have been taken from the side of ICC,” she said. The students’ union claimed that a sexual harassment complaint was filed by the survivor with ICC on April 10 against the accused. Another complaint was filed by a few batchmates of the survivor on April 15, accusing the teacher of sexually and mentally harassing them for knowing the whereabouts of the student.
Last month, a student of the university had complained that she was sexually harassed by four individuals, including two former students.
