Two IIT-Bhubaneswar Girls Harassed—the Campus Calls For A Special Committee

A special committee comprising 7 members has been set up to probe into an IIT-Bhubaneswar professor’s misconduct following the allegations of mental harassment made by two M. Tech students.

The complaint was filed by two female students on April 27^th, 2014 with the IIT director. According to the complainants, the accused was harassing them repeatedly for the past 2 months.

“The professor threatened to spoil our career and give us poor marks in examination. He wanted us to visit his chamber regularly. He even asked us to visit his house alone at night,” one of the complainants revealed. “On April 25, he attempted to barge into our flat,” she added.

“Recently, we went to Hirakud in Sambalpur on a study tour where the professor misbehaved with us. He insisted us to talk to him only. When we denied, he threatened us with dire consequences,” she said.

The 7 member committee investigating into the case comprises faculty members of the institution and a woman lawyer of the Orissa high court.

“Soon after receiving the complaint, the institute took the matter seriously and immediately entrusted the committee to investigate the allegations,” B. K. Ray, IIT-Bhubaneswar’s registrar, was quoted as saying to the media.

“The professor has been sent on leave until the inquiry is completed. The professor in question, who was assigned to guide the complainants in academic matters, has been replaced.”
Although the accused professor was not available for comment, his colleagues spoke to the media in his support.
“We are shocked over such allegations. The professor is a nice gentleman. I learnt he was falsely dragged into controversy after he expressed his displeasure over the girls’ poor performance in examination,” one of the professor’s colleague said.