Jamia expels 3 over sexual harassment

In a bid to send out a strong message to potential offenders, Jamia Millia Islamia University has expelled three male students allegedly found guilty of sexual harassment.

In a bid to send out a strong message to potential offenders, Jamia Millia Islamia University has expelled three male students allegedly found guilty of sexual harassment.

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The decision, taken on Monday, comes in the wake of two complaints filed by a student and a teacher respectively.

“It’s important to let everyone know that Jamia will not tolerate anything of such nature. This decision will also make our female students feel secure on campus,” said Simi Malhotra, university’s media coordinator.

Of the three, two are undergraduate students studying social work and psychology, respectively. The latter was a hosteler. The third is an M Phil student who had apparently been harassing his teacher.

The Proctorial committee of the varsity had instituted an enquiry into the two complaints and found all three guilty.

“While the complaint against the undergraduate students was received on February 2, the one involving the faculty member is a week old. There was strong evidence against each accused in the shape of SMSes sent to the teacher and the student complainant. That nailed them,” said a university official who did not wish to be identified.

Apart from expulsion, the campus has been declared out of bounds for the expelled students. The M Phil student was also arrested after the teacher filed a police complaint against him.

“We had to arrest the student again on Monday when he approached the teacher with a bouquet of flowers near her house. He has been released on bail,” said Virender Singh Chahal, additional commissioner of police (southeast) Delhi.