A foreign girl student levelled allegations of "inappropriate conduct" against a faculty member, prompting the IIT-Kanpur to remove him immediately from his teaching responsibilities, the institute said on Tuesday. The foreign student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) has accused a professor of molesting her. She has complained to the embassy of her country.
The IIT-K administration has started investigating the matter following the complaint of the girl, that was forwarded by the embassy, according to several news reports.
"Last week, a complaint was filed by a girl student against a faculty member for inappropriate conduct," the premier institution said in a statement. It said, "The internal complaints committee of the institute started investigations under the the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act following the Supreme Court guidelines. Immediately, on recommendations of the panel, the faculty member was removed from teaching responsibilities of the course in which the girl student was registered," the institute said.
The girl student was admitted to the Institute under a student exchange programme with other countries. A senior officer pleading anonymity told the Hindustan Times that the complaint had been received. The matter was being investigated. He however, refused to divulge the name of the student, the country she belonged to and other details as the matter was subjudice.
Deputy Director of IIT-Kanpur, Prof Manindra Agarwal said in a statement, "Last week, a complaint was filed by a girl student against a faculty member for inappropriate conduct. The Internal Complaints Committee of the institute started investigations under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act following Supreme Court guidelines. Immediately, on the recommendations of ICC, the said faculty member was removed from teaching responsibilities of the course in which the girl student was registered."
