A female student at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore has accused a member of the institute’s placement cell of sexual harassment, prompting the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) to open an investigation, a senior official said on Thursday.
According to the official, the student who was accused has been directed by the ICC to step down from the Placement Committee, a directive he has followed.
The local unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) submitted a memorandum to the IIM Indore director, alleging that a member of the placement committee had sexually harassed “some female students” during an off-campus event.
In its memorandum, the ABVP urged the institute to ensure a fair, transparent and timely probe, while extending mental, legal and administrative support to those affected. The student organisation also sought the dissolution of the current Placement Committee and the formation of a new one to safeguard the inquiry from “pressure and influence.”
IIM Indore Director Himanshu Rai told PTI that the ICC began its probe after a female student filed a complaint alleging she had been sexually harassed by a fellow student who also served on the Placement Committee during a programme conducted outside campus.
“Immediately after receiving the complaint, the ICC asked the student concerned to step down from the Placement Committee. He is no longer on the committee,” he said.
Rai added that the complaint is being examined under the Vishaka guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court to ensure proper mechanisms for preventing and addressing cases of sexual harassment at workplaces.
The Vishaka framework mandates the establishment of Internal Complaints Committees in workplaces to handle such complaints. These panels operate under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, which requires all organisations with 10 or more employees to constitute an ICC.