At least 500 female students from Chaudhary Devi Lal University in Sirsa city of Haryana have penned a letter to the offices of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Haryana State Chief Manohar Lal Khattar accusing a professor of sexually harassing them.
The girls have also demanded an inquiry against the professor by a panel led by a retired High Court judge, in addition they are seeking the suspension of the academic.
The copies of the letter have also been sent to Vice Chancellor Dr Ajmer Singh Malik, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij, and National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma, as well as senior state government officials and several media organisations.
The girls have accused the professor of carrying out "filthy and obscene acts." According to their letter, the professor allegedly called them into his office, took them to a bathroom, touched their private parts, and engaged in indecent behavior with them.
The students also said that they were threatened with serious consequences when they spoke out against the professor.
The female students alleged that this has been occurring "for several months." The professor in question had never been held accountable, purportedly due to his ability to promote himself as a person of high moral standing.
In their letter, the girls even accused the Vice Chancellor of threatening them to be expelled because the accused professor is an individual who holds “immense political influence”.
Meanwhile, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been set up to investigate the matter, and it has already visited the university.
“We immediately constituted the SIT under IPS officer Deepti Garg. The SIT is taking statements. It has already taken statements from many people,” Additional Director General of Police Shrikant Jadhav told the media.