Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, April 27: In a long overdue move, authorities of Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology have decided to hand over the investigation of a high-profile sexual harassment case to the police.
News of a professor of Basic Science College affiliated to OUAT sexually harassing students rocked the university April 8 after 12 students lodged complaints against the professor, leading to calls for a police investigation.
Instead of handing over the case to police, university authorities formed a three-member fact-finding committee to find out the veracity of the allegations. The committee however could not stick to its deadline of submitting its report by April 20, and asked for the deadline to be extended to April 30.
The decision to hand over the case to the police came after Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Sunday personally intervened in the matter and wrote to OUAT officials seeking quick action. “We received the letter from the CM’s office today and have directed the committee to expedite their probe. However, if they fail to submit their report by April 30, we have to hand over the case to the police,” said a senior official here.
The committee, meanwhile, has been fast-tracking its investigation into the case. The complainants were summoned Monday and were interrogated by the committee for over four hours. The complainants have reportedly told the committee that the accused professor is threatening them to withdraw their complaint.
“The committee has been asked to expedite their investigation and wrap it up at the earliest. They will submit their report positively by Thursday. We will decide on the matter after verifying the report,” said Manoranjan Kar, OUAT vice-chancellor.