An assistant professor at Assam University in Silchar was booked for allegedly molesting a woman researcher during a conference held in Bengaluru, police said.
The woman researcher lodged a complaint at the Assam University police outpost on October 11, alleging sexual harassment, Cachar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Partha Pratim Das said. “We received a complaint and we are probing it,” Das said.
He added that the matter involves a central university and that, under the Vishaka guidelines, the university’s internal investigation report is important before the police intervene.
Registrar of Assam University, Silchar (AUS), Pradosh Kiran Nath, said that the woman researcher lodged a complaint alleging molestation around October 7, and the matter was referred to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).
“We held a meeting, and the ICC has been asked to complete the investigation as soon as possible and submit its report,” he said, adding that the university has a strict policy on sexual harassment.
The woman researcher told HT on Thursday that the incident occurred during an international academic conference held in Bengaluru in September and that she was subsequently threatened by the assistant professor several times.
“On the night of September 26, after an academic discussion, the supervisor insisted on accompanying me to my allotted room. We were alone at the lift when he made an inappropriate personal proposition and asked me to engage in physical intimacy. When I refused, he said that it could have adverse consequences for my academic progress,” she said.
She said that she later contacted her fiance and sought help from two female faculty members from other universities. “The two faculty members extended their support and stayed with me that night,” she added.
She alleged that the assistant professor from the department of performing arts later began creating obstacles in her academic progress and that she was denied information about two Research Advisory Committee (RAC) meetings.
“He threatened to create difficulties for me and said he would not let me complete my PhD. He also said that my research work would not progress unless I complied with his instructions,” she said.
HT reached out to the assistant professor accused of molestation, but his official contact number remained switched off until the report was filed.
Registrar Nath said that the assistant professor attended an online meeting last week and that the ICC was examining his attendance after the complaint was lodged.
Assam University has witnessed similar incidents in the past as well, and the registrar said that strict action had been taken against the accused in those cases.