Coimbatore: Justice prevailed on Tuesday when the forest department decided to rehire the 42-year-old woman employee—who was terminated from her job as a temporary computer operator at Karadimadai section after she filed a sexual harassment complaint against her colleague—and also demoted the perpetrator for indulging in corruption.
Chief conservator of forest Deepak Srivastava directed the district forest officer (DFO) to employ the victim either at the DFO office or in Karadimadai section office, a highly-placed source in the department told TOI.
However, the victim declined the offer, saying that she was not willing to work again in the same environment.
Madukarai ranger had terminated the woman from her job, claiming that her work was not satisfactory. “But it was not mentioned in any of the earlier reports. The department decided to rehire her after verifying that she was a good performer,” the source said.
“For a fair inquiry, there should be a sense of belonging among her colleagues. It will happen only if the victim continues to work in the department,” the source said.
Meanwhile, forester S Kannan, who was transferred to Vellore circle after the sexual harassment complaint was registered against him, was demoted on Tuesday for indulging in fund misappropriation and corruption when was working in the Tamil Nadu Forest Training College near Vaigai dam in 2015. He will work as a forest guard for next five years.
An inquiry was initiated against Kannan based on a petition submitted by forest guards, who were undergoing training at that time, said a senior official from Theni. According to their complaint submitted to the CM’s cell, Kannan had misappropriated the relief fund collected for assisting the districts affected by Cyclone Vardah. Claiming that he had to distribute a portion of the amount among senior officials of the department, Kannan had collected Rs 800 from each of the trainee guards.
According to the petition, the forester also misappropriated the mess fund. “He used to take Rs 1,000 from the fund every week and also used to collect money from trainees by conducting compulsory classes during morning and afternoon hours. He used to collect Rs 100 per person,” it said.
As a part of the inquiry, the department has reopened old complaints registered against Kannan and is investigating other sexual harassment complaints against him.
