A midnight protest by members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) against alleged sexual harassment of a student by senior faculty members at Pondicherry University turned tense on Thursday, October 9, leading to the reported detention of 24 students by police.
According to a report by The News Minute, two audio recordings alleging sexual harassment by the Centre Head of the Karaikal campus, Dr. C. Madhavaiah, and A Praveen, a faculty member of the Department of Physical Education and Sports.
In the recording, Madhavaiah is accused by a student of sexually harassing her via text, demanding nude photos, and threatening to penalise her academically (by cutting her internal marks) if she did not comply.
The victim made these allegations when talking to another woman to settle it internally, as she reportedly feared the issue affecting her education and upcoming wedding.
According to the student, the harassment had started months ago, and the professor would reach out to her after 10 pm some days.
“For the past 5-6 months I have been under immense stress. I am unable to study or concentrate on anything. The HoD has been harassing me sexually, asking me to share nude photos”, she was quoted by The News Minute.
“He calls and texts me after 10 pm. Sometimes he calls and explicitly asks for nude photos, promising to give good marks in internals, or else he threatens to cut it.” “He says, ‘You won’t be able to write exams or study.’”
Several other instances were cited in the report.
Protest demands fair inquiry
The protest was held demanding a fair inquiry into sexual harassment complaints on campus and the reconstitution of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
Students alleged that the existing ICC panel had failed to deliver justice in previous sexual harassment cases and urged the university to form a new committee.
As the agitation intensified on the main campus late in the night, police were called in to defuse the situation.
Quoting a senior police officer, a report by The Hindu stated that the university administration had agreed to reconstitute the ICC and share the minutes of a recent meeting between the students and the Vice-Chancellor.
“However, the protesters refused to leave the Administrative Block area despite a court order banning protests within 100 metres of it. They also attempted to confine the V-C and police officers on campus. Hence, we detained around 10 students,” the officer said.
Meanwhile, student representatives accused the police and the university of using force to disperse them. “We had been seeking a meeting with the V-C and Registrar since morning, but were denied access. Later, we were physically removed from the protest site. Our demands are genuine, and we will continue the protest,” said an SFI student leader, as per the report.
Congress leaders meet Lt Guv
A delegation of Congress members, led by former minister R Kamalakannan, had earlier met Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan, urging his intervention to ensure a fair inquiry into sexual harassment allegations raised by students against a faculty member on the university’s Karaikal campus.
The university, however, denied the allegations and defended its procedures. In an official statement, it said, “A team of senior university officials visited the Karaikal campus and found the charges to be untrue. The allegations were based on an old audio clip. The university has a robust mechanism to address student concerns and maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment.”
