HYDERABAD: The state government on Sunday placed Dr. T. Harikrishna, OSD of Telangana Sports School at Hakimpet, under suspension for alleged sexual harassment of girl students, who are all minors.
The action was taken after MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha took up the issue with the sports minister V. Srinivas Goud.
“It made me very upset. There should be no room for such things in the Telangana government which is working under the leadership of CM KCR. I request the Hon'ble Minister @VSrinivasGoud to take immediate action against the officer who is alleged of sexual harassment of the girl, conduct a full-scale investigation and do justice to the victims (sic),” she tweeted on Sunday morning.
In a swift response, Goud tweeted “We will immediately suspend the alleged officer. A full-scale investigation will be conducted with the higher authorities on the reports of sexual harassment of girls in Hakimpet Sports School and strict action will be taken against the culprits. We will not ignore the harassment of women in Telangana state under the administration of CM KCR. Strict action will be taken against the people who commit such incidents (sic).”
In a release issued later, the minister said that the alleged officer has been placed under suspension and that a five-member probe team has been formed to look into the allegations and submit a detailed report. He assured strict action against all those found guilty. However, neither his tweet nor the release named the alleged official.
According to sources, the probe team, including Shailaja Ramaiyer, the principal secretary (sports), and officials from the sports department, grilled Harikrishna for around seven hours on the allegations. Further, on the directions of Medchal - Malkajgiri district collector, the district child protection unit conducted a separate inquiry at the institution where they recorded statements of the students and staff.
Harikrishna denied the allegations and demanded a fair inquiry. He claimed that he and his team had bought about qualitative changes in the mindset of the trainees, which are evidenced by their achievements.
Meanwhile, voicing their support for Harikrishna, some girls spoke to the media claiming it to be a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the institution.
“He has not done any such things and has been taking care of us. He treated us as his daughters. Since he is earning a good name for the institution, some vested interests are spreading such rumors,” said a student.
They also protested on the school campus in support of Harikrishna.
