St. Stephen's molestation row: Thampu feels sorry for victim

He added that the molestation victim has been taken hostage by certain unscrupulous elements

St. Stephen's College principal Valson Thampu, who was summoned by the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), on Wednesday said that he feels sorry for the research scholar, who accused a college professor Satish Kumar of sexual harassment.

"Today, I feel sorry for her. My heart goes out to her. She shouldn't have been in this plight. She has been taken hostage by certain unscrupulous elements. It is extremely pathetic that this is being done to a human being. It is a sad story," Thampu told the media here.

Thampu further said that as a person, who knows how the commission works and respects the mandate, he has serious limitations in revealing what has happened in the meeting with the DCW.

"All I can tell you is that I am extremely happy to endorse the commission's passionate commitment to bringing justice to every woman in the city, particularly, those who seek the help of the commission to secure justice. In the present case, I am keen as any one of you is that only justice must be done," he added.

On being asked if the victim expressed any sort of wish to return to continue with her research, Thampu said, "I am extremely skeptical if that is feasible at this time. I wish the arrangement I had worked out for completing her PhD had remained intact. And I am totally convinced that that was in her best interest."

The victim had approached police last month alleging that she was molested by Kumar and accused Thampu of "shielding" the teacher when the matter was reported to him.

The victim had also met Union HRD minister Smriti Irani last month, who had then directed the Delhi University to ensure that her stipend was released on time and she was granted unrestricted access to the laboratory besides being assigned a new supervisor.

However, notwithstanding the instructions the accused professor had refused to give back the victim's compounds and computational data.

The girl had recently sent a fresh letter to the HRD Ministry, the University Grants Commission (UGC), the DCW and the National Commission of Women (NCW), seeking their intervention for the removal of the college principal as she accused him of "manipulating evidence."