The head of a department at Jamia Millia Islamia has been suspended after a student lodged a sexual harassment complaint against him.
Based on the victim’s complaint, an FIR has also been registered against the accused under Section 75 (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
According to the FIR, the accused called the student to his chamber on August 27. When she went to him after the classes, the professor touched her inappropriately.
The FIR was lodged the following day and the university issued an office memo about his suspension pending an inquiry by the internal complaints committee (ICC) on Thursday.
A university official said the complaint constitutes a “serious breach of the code of conduct”.
The official added that the student’s complaint stated that the department head “tried to sexually assault her by making advances” and sexually explicit overtures.
The official also said that the accused has been asked not to leave the campus without permission from the competent authority.
A friend of the complainant said, “She is quite traumatised by what happened, as the professor is much older than her and in a position of authority. She went to the police first, apprehensive about the university not taking stringent action against the professor.”
She added, “Even though the university is saying that he is suspended, he has only been removed from his post as the department head and continues to remain on the campus.”
Another Jamia professor was accused of sexual harassment earlier this year. In May, four women research scholars levelled charges of sexual harassment, disrespectful behaviour, and “uncouth, uncivilised language” against their PhD supervisor.
One of the students had subsequently quit her course. Nearly two months after the complaint, an ICC inquiry was initiated against the professor in July, and he was suspended and asked not to visit the Centre for Jawaharlal Nehru Studies, where he taught, until further orders. The professor remains suspended as the inquiry against him is still under way.