A day after a professor and two other employees at a government college in Faridabad were suspended over allegations of sexual harassment, the Haryana Women Commission recently found that the Internal Complaints Committee which deals with such matters was not active in the college. The complainant had alleged that an Assistant Professor, a peon and a laboratory assistant would befriend girl students at the time of admission and later target those who had to reappear for exams, promising them help.
She has alleged that the accused sought sexual favours from the girls on the pretext of helping them during exams. "I met the girl at the college today. She gave a detailed account of what she had to face. She said that she had secretly recorded a video-audio conversation with one of the accused," Haryana State Commission for Women Renu Bhatia said. She said that an FIR has been registered and police would investigate the matter.
Bhatia said that during her meeting with the college officials, it was found that its Internal Complaints Committee was not even active. "Another thing where we found the college lacking was that the girl had approached them nearly a fortnight ago, but it took a few days to take cognisance of her complaint. The college did form a committee, but it took several days," she said.
The matter came to light when the complainant recorded her conversation with the laboratory assistant and narrated the incident to the college Principal. The incident has triggered outrage, with senior Congress leader and Kaithal MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala recently demanding strict action against the culprits.
