MADURAI: The Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) Syndicate has dismissed a professor for allegedly sexually harassing a research scholar after the Internal Complaints Committee of the varsity recommended for the action, which was ratified by Governor Banwarilal Purohit.
The decision was announced during a special syndicate meeting held on Thursday. The complaint was against Professor K Karnamaharajan, who was also the Head of Centre for Film and Electronic Media Studies Department.
On December 7, 2018, a research scholar from the same discipline submitted a complaint to the then Registrar V Chinniah and TN Higher Education Department Principal Secretary stating that her research guide K Karnamaharajan was emotionally abusing her for the past one year and that Karnamaharajan had wilfully issued her a memo, cancelling her PhD registration, on December 27 last. It was the complainant’s allegation that, when she was on leave, the research guide recommended the varsity authorities to cancel her PhD registration.
She stated that the guide, with an “unfair intention of making her spend time with him all the time”, had ordered her not to speak with the teachers and students of MKU. “He had expressed comments seeking sexual favours from me. He also received Rs 2 lakh from me to issue a predated PhD registration order,” she added.
Based on her complaint, MKU’s Internal Complaints Committee inquired the research guide and based on it MKU Syndicate decided to dismiss Karnamaharajan, and was informed to Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who ratified the dismissal.