A former student of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), who had accused a professor from the School of Management and Labour Studies of sexually harassing her, has filed a formal complaint with the institute.
Preethi Krishnan, who graduated from the institute in 2006, posted her experience on social media. The institute had taken cognisance of her post and initiated an inquiry. “The institute reached out to me and I have submitted a formal complaint against P. Vijayakumar. They needed a formal complaint to kickstart the process. They said they will set the dates and let me know of the hearings,” Ms. Krishnan told The Hindu.
Sources said Mr. Vijayakumar has agreed to cooperate with the inquiry. He did not respond to repeated phone calls from The Hindu.
Ms. Krishnan said a key objective in coming forward is to ensure the campus is safe for students. “I am open to hear how they intend to do that. This is also not just about this one person. This is about how universities should deal with these issues. How do you determine consent in an unequal power relationship?” she said. Mr. Vijayakumar, or V.K. as he is popularly known, was her graduate advisor.
She said, “My purpose of putting this out in public and not only to the internal complaints committee is because I think this conversation is important for us to consider for the future. I don’t know what will happen to VK, but this is not only about VK.”