Jadavpur University has ordered an Internal Complaints Committee probe after a first-year arts student alleged that a non-teaching staff member sexually harassed her inside Technology Bhavan, prompting students to demand action and improved safety measures in parts of the building.
The alleged incident took place at about 3.20 pm on Friday on the sixth floor of Technology Bhavan, according to a complaint submitted by students to vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee. The accused staffer works in the university’s mathematics department.
Bhattacharjee said the complaint was serious and would be forwarded to the Internal Complaints Committee for necessary action. He added that, based on prima facie evidence, the staffer would be barred from entering the campus until the committee completed its probe.
The complaint said three students had been sitting on the staircase of the seventh floor when the staffer asked them to leave. Two students went downstairs, while the staffer allegedly approached the third student and asked for her name, department and phone number. According to the complaint, he then took her to the sixth floor, where there were no lights, and showed her locked rooms while explaining that students were not permitted there because laptops had previously been stolen.
The student alleged that, as she turned to leave, the staffer pulled her by the hand and held her by the waist. The complaint said she pushed him away and left the area. It also alleged that she confronted him after he came downstairs, but that he denied the allegations and asked the students to provide proof. The complaint further quoted him as saying that the matter was being exaggerated.
The staffer denied the allegations and said he was being framed. According to his account, he had found two boys and a girl in the area, asked for their names and addresses, and maintained a distance of six to seven arm’s lengths while speaking to the student. He said the students were exaggerating a minor issue and that he had informed security personnel and the estate section. He also said he had apologised if his conduct had caused hurt.
Students said the sixth and seventh floors of Technology Bhavan do not have CCTV cameras. Their letter also referred to an earlier incident in July in which they alleged that the same staffer behaved improperly with female students. The reported absence of camera coverage adds a security and accountability concern to the university’s handling of the complaint, although the allegations remain subject to the ICC inquiry.
Arghyajit Banerjee, a batchmate of the student, said the vice-chancellor had been informed and that students expected strict action. The next formal steps are the referral to the Internal Complaints Committee, the determination of any interim campus restriction and the committee’s findings after examining the complaint and the responses of those involved.
