IIT-Bhubaneswar professor accused of sexual harassment by PhD student

Bhubaneswar: A Ph.D student on Saturday leveled sexual harassment charges against a senior professor of Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubanewar (IIT-Bhubaneswar).

The woman hailing from West Bengal alleged that the professor was mentally torturing her after she got married in 2012 to her friend, who is also a Ph.D student in the same institute.

Now, the woman has sent a notice to the director of the IIT through her lawyer in this regard.

She has also written to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking their intervention in the issue.

Deputy secretary of the Odisha Skill Development and Technical Education department P.K. Sarangi has sought an immediate report from the IIT director in connection with the case.

“I have been a victim of sexual harassment since 2012. The professor always tried to separate me from my husband. This has led to my husband facing serious mental trauma. Because of the professor torturing me, my husband suffered brain hemorrhage,” said the woman who is now staying in Bangalore. Earlier, the woman said she had approached the IIT authorities as well.

Debaraj Rath, registrar of the IIT-Bhubaneswar, said the Internal Complaints Committee instituted to look into the sexual harassment issue found the allegation had no basis and absolved the professor of all charges.