“We would like strict motion in opposition to Kumar and for him to be expelled from school. We wish to research,” mentioned a complainant within the GCG case to ThePrint on situation of anonymity.
At round 9 pm on 18 March, 2024, Kumar, purportedly drunk, shared a hyperlink to a pornographic video inside a WhatsApp group known as ‘BAMC 2nd yr’, comprising 22 of his college students. Subsequently, one of many college students is claimed to have alerted him, prompting Kumar to delete it. Nevertheless, a number of college students had already taken screenshots by then.
The subsequent day, 16 ladies who have been a part of the WhatsApp group wrote their criticism to the faculty administration.
The school’s principal, Ram Niwas Yadav, was fast to take motion. He fashioned an inside criticism committee comprising three members, which convened on 20 March. The identical day, college students and their households staged a protest exterior the faculty premises.
Through the committee’s deliberation, the allegations in opposition to Kumar have been validated, prompting the choice to lodge a police criticism in opposition to him. On that afternoon, the police registered a case underneath part 67A of the Info Know-how Act, 2000, pertaining to the dissemination of sexually specific materials in digital kind, resulting in his subsequent arrest.
“Since there have been no complaints of any type of bodily harassment in opposition to him, and he has solely shared a pornographic hyperlink, this part has been utilized. Underneath this, there’s a provision of imprisonment for as much as 5 years,” Singh mentioned.
On 21 March, Kumar was despatched to 14 days’ judicial custody by the Gulha Courtroom. He has since utilized for bail for medical causes, citing accidents to his legs. An opposition to this plea was made by the general public prosecutor on the grounds that if he’s launched, it might put stress on college students.
Over the previous few months, related incidents have been reported from academic establishments throughout Haryana.
In November final yr, ThePrint had reported on the incidents that unfolded at a public faculty situated within the state’s Jind district. Inappropriate conduct corresponding to lecherous stares, unwarranted touching, and asking college students intrusive questions on their private lives — these have been the complaints made by almost 150 college students to the district schooling officer in opposition to the varsity’s principal.
Police suspected that the misconduct had began 5 years in the past, when Kartar Singh Chahal was appointed because the principal of the women’ faculty. The chain of occasions resulting in Singh’s apprehension started with an nameless electronic mail despatched to the Haryana State Fee for Ladies on 31 August. An investigation adopted, culminating in Singh’s arrest on 5 November. Through the preliminary phases of the inquiry, solely 5 ladies stepped ahead to offer testimony to the police.
Extra lately, firstly of this yr, college students of Chaudhary Devi Lal College in Sirsa district despatched a two-page letter in Hindi to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, then Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, the State Ladies’s Fee, and an area journalist. The letter accused Dean Sushil Kumar of sexually harassing college students for months, providing good grades in sensible exams in return.
A report by ThePrint on the case quoted the letter despatched by college students: “He touched our non-public components and threatened us that if we complained about him, it wouldn’t come out nicely for us.”
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The GCG case
On 28 July, 2022, some GCG Cheeka college students wrote an nameless letter addressed to Kaithal’s deputy commissioner and the varsity administration.
“Incidents occurred two months in the past when a instructor, Mr. Jitender, was caught with a lady from our school. He jumped from the faculty roof, inflicting his backbone and each legs to fracture. Everybody is aware of about this, however no motion has been taken in opposition to anybody to this point,” the letter acknowledged in Hindi.
ThePrint has accessed a duplicate of this letter.
The letter additionally accused two different professors of educating whereas drunk and “posting indecent photographs on Fb”.
“If our households discover out, our schooling can be disrupted. These folks will even cut back our marks and tarnish our repute. Please do one thing in order that we are able to research in a greater setting,” the letter added.
The SHO defined {that a} related nameless letter was written in January this yr, making the identical allegations in opposition to Kumar, however when motion was taken, no complainant got here ahead.
This time, although, college students have come ahead brazenly.
‘Inner politics’
When ThePrint visited GCG in Cheeka Friday, professors of the faculty had gathered inside Principal Ram Niwas Yadav’s workplace. Former BJP MLA Kulwant Ram, who helped set up the faculty in 2018, was additionally current. When Ram inquired concerning the matter, Yadav claimed instant and swift motion was taken in opposition to Kumar.
Nevertheless, whereas acknowledging the misery induced to the feminine college students and objecting to Kumar’s actions, Yadav additionally addressed the difficulty of “groupism” amongst professors, notably throughout the mass communication division on the school.
“There’s a lack of coordination between the professors and college students. And a nexus has been fashioned,” the principal acknowledged.
Chatting with ThePrint, he mentioned that in 2022, when the nameless letter was acquired, he was not related to the faculty. He added that complaints have been registered with the administration final yr, however that he was unaware of the following plan of action.
Appointed as principal six months in the past, Yadav mentioned he’s striving to “enhance issues” on campus. Nevertheless, inside politics are undermining his efforts. In accordance with him, if the mass communication division is “shut down”, issues might enhance.
“Now, this matter is within the court docket, and the administration will take additional motion in keeping with the legislation,” Yadav mentioned concerning the case pertaining to Kumar.
On the difficulty of groupism, the place college students are being swayed by academics to say sure issues, he mentioned that he’ll talk about with workers members strict measures that have to be applied for ladies’s security.
In accordance with SHO Singh, Kumar had a “private rivalry” with one other professor, and claimed to have acquired demise threats.
Within the principal’s workplace, one other professor spoke of an incident from 2022 when Kumar allegedly “fell” from the roof of a constructing throughout the school campus. The nameless letter despatched final yr, too, talked about this incident and claimed that the professor was on the roof of the constructing with a pupil who, it asserted, was his “girlfriend”. When questioned by the faculty administration, Kumar had defined that he fell whereas “attempting to catch a fowl”. Throughout this incident, he had suffered severe accidents to his legs.
ThePrint reached Kumar’s lawyer, O.P. Gulati by way of calls. This report can be up to date if and when a response is acquired.
Since this incident, former MLA Ram has acquired many calls. “Persons are asking me that you just established the faculty, however why are all these incidents taking place? It has grow to be tough for me to reply,” he mentioned.
Rising voices
The scholars stand divided, trapped between a rock and a tough place — the foyer in opposition to Kumar and one other in opposition to professor Ravi Shankar from the mass communication division — all striving to get “good marks”. This incident has left some fearful that they won’t be allowed to proceed their research.
Chatting with ThePrint, a 20-year-old BA pupil mentioned, “Have a look at this. My uncle simply shared this information hyperlink on WhatsApp. He’s asking if professors in my school share obscene hyperlinks.”
This pupil’s household is at present unaware of the matter, however after this message, she fears her research is perhaps stopped. “Why would anybody ship their daughter to such a university?” she requested.
“It’s good that Jitender has been arrested. I hope he will get life imprisonment. Possibly now there can be much less groupism on campus. At the very least we’ll be capable to research higher,” one other pupil added.
The technical loopholes within the IT Act have emerged as a significant drawback for the police. The cops have requested screenshots of the hyperlink posted on the WhatsApp group for proof. Nevertheless, the scholars solely have cropped photographs.
They prompt conducting a forensic check on Kumar’s telephone, however, in keeping with the police, forensic assessments can not retrieve the message contained throughout the hyperlink despatched on WhatsApp as a result of the hyperlink doesn’t save on the telephone.
At round 4 pm Monday, the scholars have been nonetheless sitting throughout the court docket premises, hiding their faces behind colourful scarves, desirous to go dwelling. Solely 9 out of 16 college students arrived on the courthouse to file their statements. A protracted counseling course of delayed their return.
“When all our statements match, why aren’t they letting us go dwelling? Why are they doing this counseling?” one complainant whispered to a different.
However the police inspired the women to maintain combating. “It has been only a few hours, it might take years to get justice in court docket,” one officer advised them. “Don’t again down.”
The 9 who recorded their statements discover solace in the truth that their households are with them. In accordance with them, in the event that they hadn’t knowledgeable their households, they may not have been capable of come ahead brazenly.
As soon as accomplished on the courthouse, they swiftly make their approach in the direction of the bus stands to catch the final bus of the night. On the bus stand, they share that Kumar has by no means behaved inappropriately with them in any approach, even at school. That is the primary time he has despatched any such message of their group. It’s an motion they received’t tolerate, and they’re decided to combat in opposition to it.
“When ladies elevate their voices, the entire society tries to suppress them, however we’ve got determined to combat in opposition to it,” mentioned a complainant.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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