HASSAN: An assistant professor of the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS) has been suspended on charges of alleged sexual harassment. Dr HC Lokesh allegedly harassed a PG student of HIMS recently while going in a lift and threatened her with dire consequences if she shared the matter with fellow students or HIMS staff. The student reportedly brought the incident to the notice of the head of the department and director of HIMS.
Navin Raj Singh, the principal secretary of medical education, has issued the suspension order directing Kavita Rajaram, the additional deputy commissioner, and Girish Nandan, the administrator of HIMS, to conduct an inquiry and submit the report within three weeks.
Sources said that HIMS director Dr Ravikumar allegedly failed to take action against Dr Lokesh despite the complaint from the student on January 12 -- the day of incident.
On condition of anonymity, staff of HIMS said that the HIMS director allegedly made a futile attempt to reach a compromise on the issue, taking her into confidence. Navin Raj Singh who is also the vice president of HIMS has suspended Dr Lokesh and ordered a departmental inquiry in this regard. The suspension order also directed Dr Lokesh not to leave the headquarters without taking permission of the HIMS director.
Kavita Rajaram, the ADC who was appointed as inquiry officer, said that she received the order copy on Tuesday and will submit the inquiry report in the prescribed time.
Students under the banner of the ABVP staged a protest in Hassan on Tuesday demanding stringent action against Dr Lokesh.