LUCKNOW: The chief proctor of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) Professor O N Singh resigned late Tuesday night and has been replaced with Dr Mahendra Kumar Singh, dean, student welfare and head of the ophthalmology department on Wednesday with additional charge.
Prof O N Singh put in his papers taking “moral responsibility” for the molestation of a woman student on the BHU campus last week, which led to violent protests by students and brutal police action against the students. Prof Singh, supposed to be a close aide of vice-chancellor G C Tripathi, submitted his resignation to the latter after Tripathi’s return from Delhi on Tuesday night.
According to the university’s public relations officer Rajesh Singh, the chief proctor’s resignation was accepted on Wednesday.
The outgoing proctor, however, claimed that he did listen to the complaint of the woman who was groped on campus and took the required action. But it failed to pacify the agitated students who demanded better security arrangements, presence of women security personnel on campus and adequate street lighting.
The protest took an ugly turn after the vice-chancellor failed to visit the protesting students and address their issues.