Twelve students from a college on Friday submitted a memorandum to the Registrar of the parent university, alleging harassment by a senior professor of a medical college in Vadodara.
The university has formed a committee to probe the matter. “We have formed a committee as per the Supreme Court guidelines to look into the matter. We have received the detailed statements of the students based on which we are investigating it. We are also probing if there are more instances other than those we have received. Based on the committee findings and final report, necessary action will be taken,” the registrar said.
While the students are yet to lodge a police complaint, the university authorities said that a case will be lodged after the probe committee submits its report.
The complainants alleged that the accused passed “lewd comments and asked inappropriate questions” to the students. According to the complaint by the students, the professor allegedly made remarks like, “Where is the girl who puts on lipstick?”, “You do not wear kurta, wear only T-shirts.”, “You look beautiful in a saree… send me a picture of yours wearing one.” etc.
The accused used to compliment the girl students in an inappropriate manner during his lectures, the complainants alleged. Owing to this a lot of students had stopped attending his lectures, they further claimed. The complainants also said that during a viva examination on Wednesday, the accused, instead of asking questions pertaining to the subject, allegedly enquired a student about her preference for men. In her statement, the student alleged that the professor asked her, “What kind of men do you like? Do you like shirtless men with well-built body? Would you like someone with a body like me? Do you have a boyfriend?”
When contacted, the accused denied the allegations. “I cannot even think of such a thing. I came to know about the allegations through the news. I cannot ask or talk about things that can be a threat to my career. I deny the allegations. They misunderstood my questions, which were anatomical and subject-based,” he claimed.