E-Paper
Dharamshala student death: Accused professor suspended, gets interim bail
The action came after the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ordered the immediate suspension of the accused. “Looking at the gravity of the allegations, I have directed that the assistant professor, whose name has been taken by the deceased girl in a video recorded before her death, be suspended immediately,” Sukhu told reporters.
Prefer HTon Google
Shimla/New Delhi
The Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday suspended an assistant professor accused of sexually harassing a 19-year-old student of a government college in Dharamshala who died on December 26, even as termed the allegations against him “completely false” after securing anticipatory bail in the case.
The action came after the chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu ordered the immediate suspension of the accused. “Looking at the gravity of the allegations, I have directed that the assistant professor, whose name has been taken by the deceased girl in a video recorded before her death, be suspended immediately,” Sukhu told reporters.
According to the order issued by the state government, the headquarters of the accused professor shall be at the Directorate of Higher Education, Shimla, and he shall not leave the headquarters without obtaining prior permission of the higher authorities during the period of suspension.
Earlier this week, based on a complaint filed by the victim’s father, three students of the Government College Dharamshala were booked for ragging while the professor was booked for sexual harassment. The father alleged that the accused “harassed and levelled casteist remarks” at his daughter, even as college authorities maintained that no ragging or sexual harassment complaint was submitted before her death.
“On September 18, 2025, the three girls from the college had beaten and intimidated his daughter and a college professor used to sexually harass her. Due to these reasons, his daughter was very scared and became unwell. She was treated in different hospitals and on December 26, 2025 she died during treatment in DMC, Ludhiana,” police said in a statement on Thursday.
A Dharamshala court on Saturday granted the professor anticipatory bail in the case, even as it directed the accused to join the probe into the matter. After securing the relief, the accused told reporters that the allegations against him are baseless, saying: “The allegations against me are completely false. The student was in my class last semester. This semester, she is in another professor’s class. I have no connection to this matter.”
The state government on Saturday also formed a four-member committee, under the chairmanship of the additional director of higher education, to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the student’s death. “This committee has been given three days to submit its report to the education secretary. Whoever is found guilty, the government and the education department will take the strictest possible action,” state education minister Rohit Thakur said, adding that the police will carry out its own investigation in parallel.
Meanwhile, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has also constituted a five-member fact-finding committee to probe the incident.
Terming the incident “unfortunate”, the Commission, in an office order dated January 2, said the fact-finding committee will examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, omission and commission on part of functionaries of the college and people responsible thereof. The panel has also been tasked with verifying compliance with student welfare and safety regulations and suggesting measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The panel, led by professor Raj Kumar Mittal of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, has been asked to submit a detailed report to the UGC within seven days.
The committee is tasked with reviewing the implementation of key UGC regulations, including those related to curbing ragging, prevention of sexual harassment, promotion of equity, and student grievance redressal. The panel will also conduct an on-site assessment to verify the actual implementation of safety and well-being measures for students, “beyond documented compliance.”
“The committee shall engage with stakeholders, including students, faculty, administrators and support staff, to assess institutional culture, student experience and challenges faced,” the order stated.
