KOCHI: A sordid tale of illegal appointment in Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (KUFOS) came out in the public after the university’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) conducted a probe into a sexual harassment complaint lodged by a staff.
The incident has exposed how an assistant librarian illegally engaged a staff on temporary basis at the library. KUFOS insiders alleged that the administration came to know about the appointment only when the woman, who was given job, lodged the sexual harassment complaint against the person who recruited her.
The woman staff, engaged on temporary basis by assistant librarian V S Kunjumuhammed, filed a complaint against him on December 14. Based on the plaint, the ICC under Professor Dr S Shyama conducted an inquiry into the incident and submitted a report to the registrar who issued an order suspending Kunjumuhammed from service with effect from December 19.
“V S Kunjumuhammed, assistant librarian, is placed under suspension with effect from December 19, 2021 until further orders pending further disciplinary action as he was found guilty of sexual harassment against a woman staff engaged by him temporarily in the university library,” the order by the registrar said.
KUFOS registrar in-charge B Manoj Kumar said once the detailed inquiry is completed, necessary disciplinary action would be taken against the accused person.