The National Commission for Women (NCW) announced on Saturday, March 25, that it has closed its investigation into the sexual harassment allegations at Chennai’s Kalakshetra Foundation, stating that “the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired” by the institute’s internal committee (IC). The announcement came a day after the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police C Sylendra Babu directed Chennai Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal to probe the allegations based on directions from the NCW. The allegations against a senior faculty member in Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts (RDCFA), Kalakshetra Foundation had emerged after several students had shared their experiences of being sexually harassed in anonymous posts on social media platforms.
On Saturday, the NCW said, “As per media report, in the case of sexual harassment allegations at Kalakshetra institution, the Director (Revathi Ramachandran)’s clarification and the internal complaints committee report did not find any evidence of sexual harassment on campus.” It further added, “The Commission has come to a conclusion to close the matter as the victim has denied sexual harassment while she was inquired by the IC committee.”
Kalakshetra had earlier dismissed the allegations as rumours and claimed that they were aimed at maligning the institute. The Foundation has also issued a gag order against speaking about the issue, in a note on its website. Activists who have been supporting the survivors have questioned the composition of the IC — which is headed by Revathi Ramachandran who is also the director of the foundation — alleging that it raises serious questions of conflict of interest.
Earlier this week, the NCW had sought a detailed Action Taken Report from the Tamil Nadu police and said that the commission would initiate an inquiry if the report was unsatisfactory. The commission had also said that the accused persons must be arrested at the earliest and necessary assistance be given to all the survivors coming forward.