Students at St. Stephen’s

New Delhi, Dec. 21: A St. Stephen’s college committee probing a sexual harassment allegation against a Sanskrit professor has accused his department of “attempts to intimidate” it.

A fortnight after an American student under an exchange programme filed the molestation complaint, the committee yesterday posted a letter on the staff room notice board.

“This is to express our dismay at the serious allegations you have levelled against the chairperson of the college complaints committee,” the letter, addressed to three professors of the Sanskrit department, said.

On Saturday, the head of the Sanskrit department, Ashutosh Dayal Mathur, and colleagues Pankaj Mishra and Chandra Bhushan Jha had accused the panel of bias.

The professors were peeved that the panel had “selectively revealed” to the media that the accused belonged to the Sanskrit department. That it “confirmed” the allegations also upset them.

The panel denied it had “leaked” information and warned the department of dire consequences if it continued to speak to the media.

“Your statements in the press are not only irresponsible but also amount to an attempt to intimidate the chairperson and interfere with the functioning of a statutory body…” the letter said.

“If your actions or statements show contempt... we feel action should be taken against you. We want you to refrain from such behaviour in the future.”

The letter also mentioned that the committee had “reported the matter (of the department’s letter) to the apex committee” of the university.

The apex committee is the appeal forum above college-level committees.

The Sanskrit department fumed at the letter. “Anyone who confirms allegations before even issuing a notice to the accused simply ought not to be on a college complaints committee. They should just wind up,” Mathur said. “We refuse to accept this threat.”