Tamil Nadu

Kalakshetra says three teachers accused of sexual harassment will be dismissed

The Kalakshetra Governing Board also assured students that assistant professor Hari Padman, who was arrested on charges of sexual harassment, will be suspended.

Written by : Kunal Shankar
Edited by : Anna Isaac

Kalakshetra Foundation’s Governing Board has given a verbal assurance to protesting students that three faculty members - Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath - will be dismissed, on Monday, April 3, said sources to TNM. The Board has also assured students of the suspension of assistant professor Hari Padman. The four men were accused of sexually harassing students. A formal process regarding the dismissal and the suspension will be notified within the next two days. Students had warned that they would continue their protests if their demands were not met.

The Governing Board gave no assurances regarding the students other demands including the dismissal of Director Revathi Ramachandran and Head of the Dance Department Jyotsna Menon. A representative of the student union told TNM that students were told to “have faith” in the Board regarding their demands to make their living conditions on campus better. The Board also failed to give any assurance regarding their demand to recognise the student union. Students said that they will give their exams only after the dismissal orders of the three faculty members and the suspension of Hari Padman are notified.

The Kalakshetra Governing board had called an emergency meeting on Monday. While Hari has been arrested by the Tamil Nadu police, there has been no legal action taken against the other three.

The verbal assurances comes days after the students of Kalakshetra held a night-long protest in the campus of the college onThursday, March 30 , demanding immediate action against the four faculty members. They also wrote to the Union Minister of Culture G Kishan Reddy, as well as the Chief Minister MK Stalin.

The Adyar All Women Police, on Friday, March 31, booked Hari Padman under sections 354A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 4 (penalty for harassment of woman) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Woman Harassment Act. He was arrested in Chennai on Monday. He has been accused of sexually harassing multiple students over the past years, and has now been booked based on a complaint filed by an alumnus of the institution.

The Chair of the Commission AS Kumari held a press meet on Monday, and asked the director of Kalakshetra Foundation not to allow the three faculty members accused of sexual harassment inside the college premises. She also said that she discussed with the Director Revathi Ramachandran and others about the Internal Committee (IC) and its functions. Kumari added that a probe will be undertaken once they go through documents and complaints filed in the past ten years.

Late last month, several students came out with allegations that the four faculty members sexually harassed multiple students. The state women’s commission also told TNM that they have received around 90 complaints from the students of the foundation, not only limited to sexual harassment.

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