Following the recent death of a second-year Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) student at Sharda University, Greater Noida, around 15 students have submitted written accounts detailing alleged harassment by faculty members.
These submissions came after a meeting held with senior university officials, according to a Hindustan Times report.
The 21-year-old student was discovered dead on the evening of July 18 in her hostel room on the 12th floor of Mandela Hostel, having allegedly taken her own life. A note found in her room reportedly accused certain professors of inappropriate conduct.
In the aftermath, assistant professor Shairy Vashist and associate professor Mahinder Singh Chouhan were arrested.
A message sent by the administration at around 8.30 pm on July 22 informed students that BDS classes would remain suspended the following day. In fact, the BDS department had already been shut for two days, while other departments continued with normal classes.
One student from the same BDS cohort shared that during the Monday meeting, peers were encouraged to document any instances of personal misconduct by the two arrested faculty members.
While anonymity was assured, fear of repercussions led many to withdraw from submitting their testimonies. “Even if our names aren’t on the statements, we worry that faculty members will be able to identify us,” the student said.
Despite these fears, roughly 15 students still submitted written complaints to the vice-chancellor’s office. Examinations initially set to begin on July 22 were subsequently deferred to July 28 after discussions during the meeting, as noted by Hindustan Times.
