PATNA: After two days of protests by students and intervention by police, authorities of Nalanda International University (NIU) on Wednesday took action against two students facing charges of sexual harassment of fellow students. Facing backlash, acting Vice-Chancellor Pankaj Mohan resigned owning “moral responsibility”.
One accused student was suspended and the other was shifted from his current hostel to another after the authorities of the Rajgir-based international university were asked by the district police to lodge an FIR against the two accused students. No FIR was, however, lodged till this report was filed.
Sources said NIU authorities were forced to take action against the two accused students nine days after the varsity’s Internal Complaint Committee confirmed the allegations against the duo.
It was a month ago that the allegations were formally lodged by at least five girl students of the internationally-funded university.
The varsity was set up in 2010 as a global centre for higher studies with the efforts of luminaries such as former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Nobel laureate Dr Amartya Sen.
“The Internal Complaint Committee probing the allegations had submitted its report on March 20. As per the set procedure on such issues, action was taken after receiving due approval of the Chancellor,” said Smita Polite, the university’s media in-charge.
The students of the university staged protests on Tuesday and Wednesday on the campus in Rajgir alleging that the acting Vice-Chancellor, Pankaj Mohan, was trying to cover up the charges.
Later in the evening, Mohan resigned. In a letter to the Chancellor, he wrote, “I take moral responsibility for what happened and relinquish all administrative positions”.