NAGERCOIL
The All Women Police in Nagercoil have registered a case against a professor of a college here for allegedly sexually harassing a girl student.
Since the student, a minor, was not ready to file a complaint, District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Kumudha lodged a complaint on behalf of the girl, who had already sent petitions to the officials of the Department of Collegiate Education.
The complainant alleged that the head of the Department of History of the college, Ranjan “misbehaved” with the girl when she went to the department to get back her mobile phone which was seized in January.
Sources in the college said the professor confiscated her mobile phone along with that of a male student when they were using them on the college premises during working hours. When the girl went to the department the same evening, “the professor touched her inappropriately” on the pretext of returning her phone. She also started receiving calls from Ranjan, the complaint said.
A faculty member, who visited the girl and her parents at their home, tried to convince them to register a police complaint. “When they were hesitant, he, with the help of an advocate, drafted a message on the alleged harassment and circulated it on social media, which ultimately attracted the attention of the media, officials and the police, and led to registration of a first information report based on the complaint from the DCPO,” an officer said.
The police have registered a case under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The DCPO, who met the principal of the college, asked him to constitute an internal inquiry committee to probe the sexual harassment complaints and also take concrete action on the findings of the committee.
Curiously, the Child Welfare Committee did not file any complaint with the police even though the victim had appeared before it a few days ago and narrated her ordeals.
Collector Prashant M. Wadnere, who came to know of it, asked the DCPO to seek an explanation from the CWC members for not filing a police complaint.