In the wake of the death of a Class XII girl student here, former youth wing secretary of MDMK and founder of Marumalarchi Makkal Iyakkam V. Eswaran on Monday urged the State government to form internal complaints committees (ICC) in all the educational institutions to redress complaints of sexual offences.
Mr. Eswaran wrote in a letter to Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday that information pertaining to the sexual assault of the victim by a teacher came to the fore only after her suicide on November 11 and that many such cases might possibly remain unreported. The ICCs in schools must include women social workers along with representatives of students and should not be led by the head of the respective educational institutions. The proceedings of these ICCs must be sent to the Department of Social Welfare periodically and this must be ensured by the District Collectors, he added.
He recalled the allegation made by a woman research scholar of Bharathiar University regarding sexual harassment by the Head of Department in 2015 and accused the district administration of not forming such committees in educational institutions following that incident.
Mr. Eswaran said that he submitted a petition in this regard to Collector G.S. Sameeran on Monday, who assured of action based on discussions with the Chief Educational Officer.
Demonstrations held
Meanwhile, college students in Tiruppur district organised demonstrations on Monday condemning the alleged sexual assault of the sstudent. Hundreds of students participated in the demonstration held in Tiruppur city and in Dharapuram.
(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050)
