College principal arrested after students complain of sexual harassment in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur

Bilaspur (HP): Police have arrested the director-cum-principal of Bandla Hydro Engineering College in Himachal Pradesh's Bilaspur following complaints of sexual harassment by girl students, officials said on Friday.

On Thursday, the students held a protest demanding his immediate arrest after a video went viral that purportedly showed the accused trying to inappropriately touch a hospitalised girl student under the blanket. The alleged incident took place in March 2024, police said.

Bilaspur SP Sandeep Dhawal told PTI on Friday that police have arrested the accused who has been booked on charges of sexual harassment.

Given the seriousness of the matter, a district-level investigation committee was formed, which submitted its report to the technical education department.

Vibha Sharma, the chairperson of the probe panel, said, “The committee prepared a report after recording the statements of all the parties, which has been submitted to the department concerned.” The director of the technical education department, Akshay Sood, said, “Action will be taken on the basis of the report.” Meanwhile, a complaint lodged by a former student of Sundernagar Engineering College on the e-Samadhan portal in April against the same person has also gone viral on the internet.

The complainant alleged that when she was studying in the college, the present director of the Bandla Hydro Engineering College, who was posted there as a senior faculty then, behaved “inappropriately” with the girl students.