Student alleges sexual harassment by staffer, DU terminates contract

THE ESTABLISHMENT Branch of the University of Delhi Wednesday discontinued the contractual services of a nonteaching staff member for allegedly sexually harassing a student at the Central Institute of Education ( CIE) earlier this month.

The st udent, i n her complaint that was officially sent to t he Head and Dean of CIE Monday, s ai d, “The i ncident … took place in... new building of the Department of Education. ( The accused) engaged in a series of i nappropriate actions and re mark s . These i nclude making unwelcome advances, asking intrusive personal questions and exhibiting behaviour that made me extremely uncomfortable and fearful of my safety.”

The woman further stated: “... I felt violated, and deeply distressed by the encounter... I respectfully ask for the support of my fellow batchmates because I do not feel safe seeing my harasser roam around carefree in the department and pretend as if nothing happened.”

A group of students staged a demonstration at CIE Wednesday, demanding justice for the student.

Meanwhile, the Head and Dean of CIE, Pankaj Arora, told The I ndian Express: “We re - ceived a complaint by the student on Monday and immediately f or warde d i t to t he I nternal Complaints Committee. The accused person was on a contractual basis and was terminated... Wednesday in the morning hours.”

When asked about the protest, Arora said, “We have spoken to the students at length and have assured them that the matter will be responsibly handled by the ICC of the university.”

Rajni Abbi, Proctor, DU, said, “The case is currently with the I CC and as l ong as i t i s under process, it will be dif f icult to give out details of the proceedings.”

He’s accused of making unwelcome advances, asking intrusive personal questions, etc