Jadavpur University Students File FIR Against Professor, Claim Administration Didn't Respond to Sexual Abuse Complaints

In an anonymous post, a fifth-year architecture students from Jadavpur University in Kolkata has accused, one of the university’s professor, Dr Shivashissh Bose, of sexual misconduct.

In complaint letter stated that the professor sexually harassed several female students from across batches. On October 18, 2022, the students finally turned in a General Diary (GD) against the accused to the Jadavpur Police station. Additionally, a grievance was filed with the Council of Architecture and the National Commission of Women.

A media report from EdexLive stated that the general diary, which 35 students have signed, contains references to inappropriate interactions between the professor and his pupils in a number of circumstances. The letter reportedly stated, “From taking photographs to making inappropriate comments such as how a girl looks and is easily recognisable even from the back, what a girl could do to look more beautiful and even comparing different body measurements of different female students.”

The students also alleged that the professor made comments that were inappropriate in every sense, and there were no circumstances that called for such remarks about female students. The report also stated that he also “objectified the girls” in front of the boys in the class.

Earlier, the university’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) had taken up the complaint and even arranged their first meeting with the students for September 22. However, the students claimed that the process had been delayed needlessly and that the members’ behaviour has been reckless. As the ICC continues its probe, students continue to hold protests on the university campus.

A student, Raya Sarkar at the UC Davis School of Law also added the professor’s name to the 56th number in the list of Sexual Harassers in Academia (LoSHA) on October 24, 2017. Nine other professors from Jadavpur University are also included on the list. There have been several instances of sexual assault on female students at Jadavpur University where the police have been called in. The Kolkata Police arrested Professor Herkan Neadan Toppo in July after he was accused of “attempting to rape a researcher in June of this year”.

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