Jagatsinghpur: Principal and a mathematics lecturer of Swami Arupananda College at Kurtanga in Odisha’ Jagatsinghpur, have been booked under the POCSO Act for allegedly suppressing a complaint of sexual harassment by a second-year science student.
After the district administration ordered for suspension of principal Ramesh Chandra Sahu and lecturer Saswat Mohanty on Tuesday, sub-collector Prashant Kumar Tarai lodged a formal complaint at Jagatsinghpur police station. The case was then transferred to Raghunathpur police station, under whose jurisdiction the college falls.
According to police, the accused are absconding and a manhunt has been launched to nab them. Other staff of the college are also likely to be questioned.
The incident dates back to January 15 this year when the student complained to the principal of misbehaviour by the mathematics lecturer outside the college premises. An internal committee was formed by the college to probe the matter. During inquiry, the accused lecturer admitted his mistake and offered a written apology, promising not to repeat such behaviour. A show-cause notice was issued to him on February 12. Later, a staff meeting was held during which Mohanty apologised again and the student accepted it.
The matter came to light again on July 18 after a complaint was filed through Jana Sunani portal of the chief minister, alleging suppression of the sexual harassment case.
Following which, the chief minister’s office directed the district administration to take immediate action as the state had only recently witnessed death of 20-year-old student of FM College in Balasore by self-immolation over alleged sexual harassment by her HoD.
Accordingly, the principal on July 19 was instructed to submit a detailed report within three days. Sahu mentioned that following the apology by the lecturer and on the request of the student’s father, he closed the case on April 5.
However, the administration noted that there was an attempt to hush up a serious allegation by not reporting the matter to higher authorities. It also found the principal guilty of closing the matter solely on the minor girl’s statement, without involving her legal guardian. “The report revealed that the internal probe committee had found the lecturer guilty and he had apologised for the incident. The principal tried to resolve the issue through mediation and closed the case without informing the higher authorities. This was a mistake on his part since the girl was minor,” Jagatsinghpur Collector J Sonal told the media.