BHOPAL: A week after a group of NLIU students met chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and accused a faculty member of sexual harassment, police registered two FIRs against professor Tapan Mohanty late Thursday night.
Additional commissioner Sachin Atulkar said the FIRs have been registered under IPC 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) on the basis of complaints filed by two girl students. Both the cases have been registered at Mahila Thana.
Around a dozen NLIU students went to Mahila Thana by the university bus, say sources, adding that two of them had filed complaints by 11pm, and more may approach police.
The girls had approached a senior IPS officer before heading for the mahila thana, say sources. Police will record statements of the complainants, said Atulkar.
Prof Mohanty said he will take legal remedy. "As of now, I have no idea about any FIR by students against me. I have to go through it first to see on what basis they have filed FIRs against me. I will take a legal course of action as per the rule of the law," he said.
On March 11, CM Chouhan ordered DGP Sudhir Saxena and Bhopal Police commissioner Makrand Deoskar to hold an inquiry after NLIU students met him to complain about harassment by a professor.
Prof Mohanty had then described these as "wild allegations" and said he was open to an inquiry. He filed a complaint at Ratibad police station against five students, including two women, for allegedly pressuring him to resign.
Police visited the campus on March 12 but no one came forward to file a complaint. "It seems the students were terrified," DSP (crime against women cell) Nidhi Saxena had said.
Mohanty had resigned on March 10, but wrote to the university to withdraw his resignation, saying he had put in his paper "under pressure from students". NLIU authorities are silent about the withdrawal of resignation. Sources say they are taking legal advice.
"As of now, the university has not even relieved Prof Mohanty, which means he is still an employee in the university. NLIU is considering all aspects before taking a final step," said a senior officer of the university.
