NCSC summons IIT-Kanpur director after reports of faculty member harassed by professors

The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued summons to the director of IIT-Kanpur and the head of its aerospace engineering department following allegations that a newly appointed faculty member was harassed by some senior professors.

“The NCSC has asked me and HoD Prof AK Ghosh to appear in person before the commission’s Delhi office on April 10 to explain the roles of faculty members who allegedly harassed the assistant professor,” said IIT Kanpur director, Prof Manindra Agarwal.

“We have decided to submit all relevant information, including the complainant’s e-mail, the findings of a high-level fact-finding committee and the minutes of the meeting of the board of governors,” Agarwal added.

Elaborating on the case, Agarwal said a faculty member, who had joined the institute as assistant professor in the aerospace engineering department in January, had alleged that he faced harassment from five seniors.

“He had written a strongly worded e-mail to me and the head of the aerospace engineering department, , Prof AK Ghosh, drawing our attention towards the matter. It prompted to me to constitute a high-level fact-finding committee under Prof Vinay Pathak, the vice-chancellor of Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU),” Agarwal added.

Prima facie, the charges levelled against the accused professors were found to be true and the inquiry committee submitted the findings over a week ago, Agarwal said. He, however, acknowledged that a formal committee has not been constituted so far to probe the charges properly.