Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jul 7: There have been allegations that Mangalore University has failed to act against an assistant professor in the department of library and information science, who has been accused of sexually harassing girl students. Reportedly, the university is sitting silent on the report filed by a committee of women representatives on the allegations.

The person who has been blamed of having committed this offence happens to be Dr Umesh. Reportedly, Dr Umesh had installed secret cameras through which girl students of the department of information science changing their clothes were captured on camera by the said assistant professor. It is said that he also blackmailed the students on the basis of these recordings. After the girl student complained, the women's protection committee of the university named 'Sparsh' conducted inquiry and filed its report with the university.

The complainants had said that Dr Umesh unnecessarily touches hands and other parts of the bodies of the girl students when conducting classes. They also had charged the concerned of inflicting mental torture in addition to sexual harassment. He was also accused of secretly filming the scene in which girl students participating in cultural programme had changed their clothes during their participation in a cultural programme. He was also charged of often calling the girl students over phone, duly supported by evidence in CD.

It is said that the committee which looked into the complaints found Dr Umesh guilty of the charges and asked the university administration to act against the accused. The affected students are angry at the long silence of the university in acting against Dr Umesh, even though the committee submitted its report in April this year.

Dr Umesh claims that the high court had stayed the report of the investigating committee. He said that after witnessing that students were copying during examination, he had cautioned them by claiming that cameras had been installed. "I have complained about these things to the departmental head. The students, in an attempt to take revenge against me, have hoisted false allegations. The departmental head has also modified certain results. Some students who are good at studies are facing problems because of these things," he stated.