Teacher sent on leave after complaints of sexual harassment

The Kalyani University has sent a teacher on forced leave for an indefinite period after a number of female students complained of sexual harassment against him, a top university official said today.

The accused, is a teacher of the Department of Folklore, and he was asked to go on forced leave yesterday, the Vice-Chancellor of Kalyani University, Shankar Kumar Ghosh, said.

"We received the complaints of sexual harassment against the teacher about two months ago and had initiated an inquiry," the vice-chancellor said.

"In the meantime, we received letters from the UGC, Women's Commission and many other bodies asking about the allegations of sexual harassment," he added.

Then, the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on sexual harassment of women at work place, at the university, took the decision, he said.

"The students were afraid to speak about the matter. Therefore, to carry out investigations transparently, the committee, as per UGC guidelines, sent the teacher on forced leave till further notice," Ghosh said.