Students protest against sexual assault

SHILLONG, AUG 27: Hundreds of agitated students of the prestigious North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) staged a protest demanding immediate termination of service of Prof AK Das of Mathematics department for sexual assault of a female research scholar.

Led by NEHU-Research Scholars’ Committee members the students took marched  and gharoaed the vice chancellor’s office in the administrative block of NEHU on  Wednesday even as they carried placards and shouted slogans “We don’t want such parasites”, “Das is a virus, format the virus”, “Terminate him and give justice to the victim.”

The protest came after a research scholar recently brought to the notice of the students’ community about the sexual harassment when NEHU authority failed to take action on her complaint against Das who allegedly harass her sexual and mentally in February.

“We demand the NEHU authority to immediately terminate the service of Prof  Das from the university within three days time,” a research scholars’ committee member Rusievan Shangpliang said.

Shangplaing said only suspension is not enough for such crime and the students strongly demand that the service of the professor is terminated to ensure safety and security of the students’ community especially the female students. He said, “Such strict action will sent a clear message to everybody that no one will go unpunished if they indulge in such cheap and criminal acts against students.”

The students also demanded that the NEHU authority lodge an FIR against the professor.

NEHU vice-chancellor Prof P Shukla assured the students that the university has zero tolerance against such sexual harassment case in the campus. He,however,  informed that the report of the enquiry committee will be submitted to the authority after 10 days.

Prof Shukla said that after the report is submitted he will immediate convene a meeting of Executive Council (EC) and decisions which will satisfy everybody will be taken accordingly against the said professor.  He also added, “We will terminate him as per rule and procedure.”- By Our Reporter