Professor Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Student

Details: Category: More News; Created on Thursday, 30 August 2012 03:11

Students on rampage at College of Commerce in Patna on Wednesday.

Patna: Students of College of Commerce in Patna on Wednesday went on a rampage after the news of a professor making lewd comments to a girl student spread across the campus.

Backed by a number of student organizations including the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), All India Students Federation (AISF), and National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the students damaged school properties and surrounded the Principal's office demanding immediate arrest of Prof. Pramod Kumar of Zoology department or face college shut-down.

Student leaders sit on a dharna at College of Commerce on Wednesday. "Prof. Pramod Kumar has been in the past accused of asking sexual favors from girl students in exchange of good grades. This is not an isolated incident and he must be brought to justice and fired from the college," student leaders said adding Principal Shailendra Kumar Singh had known about it but tried to sweep the matter under the rug.

City Superintendent of Police (SP) Jayant Kant and a team of police rushed to the college and placated the angry students saying appropriate actions would be taken against the accused.

The professor, in the meantime, is said to have gone underground to escape arrest.

Principal Singh said a fact-finding team has been constituted to get to the bottom of the case.

Meanwhile, the teachers' association came out in support of Prof. Kumar saying he was being falsely implicated to settle some personal scores.

"We will be forced to take stringent steps if justice is not served in favor of Prof. Kumar," said the president of the teachers' association Prof. V. P. Sharma.

Errata: Earlier this story identified Prof. Pramod Kumar as a professor of Geology. One of the readers pointed out that he, in fact, teaches Zoology. The error is regretted. - PD