A group of women faculty members of Government Arts and Science College at Thondamuthur on Friday, January 24, staged a sit-in protest on the campus accusing a Head of Department (HoD) of sexually harassing them.

The protest was held for more than four hours after which senior officers of the Directorate of Collegiate Education told them that action would be taken against him.

A faculty member seeking anonymity told The New Indian Express that the HoD had been transferred to this institution from the government arts college located in the city following similar complaints.

She said that in recent times, female faculty members faced frequent sexual harassment from him.

"In the recent past, several women faculty members were harassed by him. Three faculties lodged a complaint with the college principal and Regional Joint Director (RJD) of Collegiate Education, Coimbatore on December 30 and 31, 2024 respectively seeking action against him. Many others were hesitant to lodge complaint against him as he holds a degree in Law," she said, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express

Sources said the RJD and principal held an inquiry with the complainants. "The inquiry was not fair and they supported the HoD indirectly. So far, they have not taken action against him. Condemning this, we staged a protest on campus. Now, top officers of DCE have assured that they would take action against him. So, we withdrew our protest," she said.

Thondamuthur police arrived in the college and held talks with the faculty members.

Repeated attempts to contact the RJD of Collegiate Education, Coimbatore V Kalaiselvi went in vain, according to a report by The New Indian Express.