Students of Karur Government Arts college withdrew their protest recently after the bail petition against their Economics Department HOD was dismissed. O Ilangovan, Head Of the Department (HOD) of Economics branch at Karur Government Arts College in Thanthonimalai was arrested last week under a sexual harassment case by the police. Students of the economics department staged a protest in front of their principal's chamber, demanding action against their HOD who was misbehaving and sexually harassing the female students in the class. Later, they marched in a rally towards the SP office, after which Ilangovan was arrested and remanded at Karur All-Women Police Station.
The case came to hearing at the Karur District Principal Session Court on April 1. The accused Ilangovan had filed a bail petition before the magistrate. This caused an uproar among the students which made them march towards the court complex, to stage another protest opposing the issuing of bail to Ilangovan. Later, the students settled down and called off their protest after the advocates informed them that the bail application was dismissed by the magistrate.
Addressing the media, advocate Murugesan said, "After the outburst by the students, Ilangovan was arrested and remanded by Karur All-Women police. The case came up for hearing on April 1 at the Karur Principal Session Court. Ilangovan had applied for bail, something all of the students were against. We, the advocates representing the students, had also shown opposition to giving bail to the accused. Also, the government's own advocate had also shown opposition against Ilangovan's bail. After hearing the opinions of both sides, the magistrate denied bail and dismissed his petition. This is a victory for the students. We're ready to oppose against Ilangovan's bail if he decides to appeal in the high court as well, once again representing the affected students."
