Further probe into molestation plaint against IIM Rohtak director

A local court in Rohtak has directed further probe into a case of sexual harassment filed by a colleague against IIM Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma. A former assistant professor of the institute filed a case against Sharma in May 2018. Sharma is also facing accusations that he is not eligible to be the director of the institute.

In the judgement, judicial magistrate Aditya Singh Yadav said that the investigation carried out by the investigating officer is “faulty” and directed further investigation in the matter. The complainant’s counsel had filed a case under section 173 (8) of the CrPC for further investigation into the case after the police filed a cancellation report into the case.

The complainant, a doctorate from IIM Ahmedabad had joined IIM Rohtak on a “tenured” position as assistant professor in September 2017, on a probation of three years. The woman alleged that Sharma started harassing her soon after, expressing his views on extramarital relationships and asking her for her views.

The judgement notes that the complainant further alleged that Sharma made disparaging comments about her private life and invited her for walks with him in the night. The complainant further alleged that Sharma gripped her sexually in one instance, and in another, moved too close to the complainant after which she kicked him and ran away.

She eventually filed an internal complaint, but was terminated from her job in May 2018. She approached the police soon after and filed an FIR. The police filed a cancellation report, quashing allegations, after which the complainant appealed for further investigation. DH reached out to Sharma; he remained unavailable.

Naveen Singhal, the complainant’s counsel, said that the police investigated the case with the notion that she filed the case since she was terminated.

“The police did not seek proof or heed to circumstantial evidence, and while she had mentioned the first written complaint she filed at IIM, the police did not seek the complaint, which is crucial. The police did not pull up the institute even after it was clear that they did not have the internal complaints committee stipulated by POSH Law,” Singhal said.

“They provided verbal statements from authorities that the complainant was not a good professor as well as some documents, but none of them were known to the complainant,” he added.