Sexual harassment slur hits Mangalore varsity

Two scholars at Mangalore University have quit their research projects, accusing a professor in the biosciences department of sexual harassment. The junior research scholars — one from Delhi and the other from Mangalore — have sent their complaints to Karnataka governor HR Bhardwaj, the chancellor of all scheduled universities in the state.

Vijaya and Shalini (names changed on the request) have complained to the vice-chancellor, Shivashankar Murthy, and registrar Chinnappa Gowda also.

“We have received a complaint from students saying professor Thippeswamy of the biosciences department had misbehaved with them,” Murthy said. “We will investigate it,” he said.

“We have an anti-sexual harassment committee in the university which has a lady police officer, besides university officials, feminists and others,” Gowda told DNA. “But this committee was not notified about any sexual harassment by these two students.”

“The committee is active in the university,” chairman Prof Mutheria Begam said. “But the students never approached the committee with a complaint. The committee will take the complaint filed with the registrar and the vice-chancellor and investigate the matter,” she said.

“I was working with this fiend of a professor (referring to Prof Thippeswamy) on a project on biodiversity,” Shalini, who is from Mangalore, said. “He used to call me and Vijaya at odd hours, and even on holidays when the campus and the department were totally deserted. We would not have minded if the calls had been only about work. But he used to take that opportunity to crack silly and obscene jokes. He would also misbehave with us when we were alone,” she said. “When Vijaya and I rebuked him, he stopped guiding us in the project.” The project was funded by the university from grants received from funding agencies.

Vijaya, who came from Delhi, had told a few senior research scholars in the department about the professor’s alleged misbehaviour. “She had even slapped the professor once,” one of the senior scholars, who did not want to be named, told DNA. “But that did not stop his advances. One day, he misbehaved with another scholar. That very day, she (Vijaya) walked out of the project.”

No police complaint has been filed against the professor, because the research scholars feared more harassment from the police. Vijaya’s parents, who have arrived from Delhi, said they would send a complaint to governor Hansraj Bhardwaj through proper channels. “My daughter’s tormentor will have no place to run,” they said.