Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, May 2: A Basic Science College professor who was accused of sexual assault was suspended by Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology after being found guilty of two in three complaints lodged against him by students.
A three-member fact-finding committee probing the alleged sexual harassment case submitted its report April 30, in which it held the Chemistry professor guilty of physically assaulting students and forcing them to engage in malpractice during examinations.
As many as twelve male students lodged complaints that the professor was offering help to students during examinations, physically assaulting them and threatening them to have sex with him.
The committee took nearly three weeks to submit its report, but failed to draw conclusive proof against the professor on the charges of sexual assault. “The committee has probed extensively into the issue and has investigated and interrogated from all angles. However, we are not in a position to draw any conclusions as the case has now been handed over to the police,” said OUAT vice-chancellor Manoranjan Kar.
The students also revealed that the professor took them to a few top hotels which have CCTV surveillance, and said the footage can be obtained as proof of their claims. “We are not the police, and do not have access to the CCTV footage of the hotels. We admit that the footage can prove to be a crucial piece of evidence in the case, but it can only be extracted by police,” said an official here.
OUAT authorities acted swiftly in suspending the tainted professor from all his posts that he held at the college after he was found guilty of at least two of the charges made against him by students. “We reiterate that any such misconduct on the part of any official will not be tolerated and will result in immediate disciplinary action,” Kar said.