Kalakshetra Foundation's former faculty member arrested for sexual assault of ex-students

A 51-year-old former faculty member of Chennai-based Kalakshetra Foundation has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two ex-students, police said, stated a report by PTI.

The arrested was identified as Sheehjith Krishna.

Based on the directions of the Madras High Court, a preliminary enquiry was conducted on the complaint of two women that Krishna sexually assaulted them when they were students of Kalakshetra during the period 1995-2007, an official release on Tuesday, April 23, said.

A case was registered against Krishna at the Neelankarai All-Women Police Station and a team led by an inspector arrested him.

The accused was later remanded to judicial custody.

Sheejith had been teaching at the Kalakshetra Foundation for 12 years from 1995 to 2007 and went on to start a dance school in Muttukadu, according to the police, stated a report by The New Indian Express.

Last year...

Last year, Hari Padman, a faculty of the Kalakshetra Foundation was arrested by the city police in April 2023 after multiple students accused Padman of sexual harassment.

Later, a three member committee that comprised former Punjab and Haryana high court judge K Kannan, ex-DGP Letika Saran and medical professional Shobha Varthaman, found him guilty of misconduct. This happened after students protested.