FIR against IIIT-A prof for harassing student

Director (IIIT-A) Prof Somnath Biswas has also set up a five-member committee to inquire into the complaints. The committee, headed by Prof Krishna Misra, a guest faculty at IIIT-A, met this evening. The meeting was underway till last reports came.

Prof Misra has now been made the complainant’s supervisor for the project.

According to IIIT-A spokesperson Pankaj Mishra, strict action, which could go up to termination, would be taken against the associate professor on the basis of the inquiry.  Efforts to contact the accused teacher failed.

The complainant, who is pursuing a project in Bio-informatics under the accused, has alleged that the latter was mounting pressure on her to have a relationship with him if she wanted her project cleared. He was also attempting sexual advances using various means, she has further alleged.

The complainant first wrote to the Director and other senior officials of the Institute. Later, she gave a complaint to the Dhoomanganj police station on Tuesday following which an FIR was registered under Section 354 (molestation) of the Indian Penal Code.

The complainant has accused the professor of holding her back in chamber till late in the evening, using unwarranted language, and offering her a ride outside the city.

“The FIR has also alleged that the accused would send indecent SMSes and email to her. We are examining the mobile phone and the computer records of the complainant to ascertain the nature of such messages and the dates on which they were sent,” said Inspector (Incharge) Dhoomanganj, Ram Surat Sonkar.

Police have also got in touch with the institute authorities in connection with the investigation.