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Thiruvananthapuram: A former college professor in Kerala was acquitted in a sexual harassment case filed by five girl students eleven year back.
Detection of malpractice by the students during examination was the provocation for the fake complaint.
Anand Vishwanathan, who was a former professor and head of economics department, at the Munnar government college in Idukki got the relief after a decade long legal battle.
"I was confident that my innocence will be proved one day. Hence I kept on fighting the case," Vishwanathan told the media.
It was during the MA Economics second semester examination in 2014 that Vishwanathan detected the rampant malpractice and reported it.
Subsequently five girl students involved in the incident had reportedly filed sexual harassment petitions against their professor. Some faculty members of the college too supported them as well. A lower court had even found him guilty and sentenced him.
But Viswanathan filed an appeal and an additional sessions court in Idukki acquitted him the other day.
The girls confessed that the allegations were fake. All the girls were activists of a students' outfit and the fake petition was suspected to be prepared with the support of leaders of the outfit.
An internal inquiry by the university had also found the allegations against the professor fake.