St. Stephen’s College Principal Valson Thampu, who is facing allegations of shielding a professor accused of molesting a PhD student, on Friday submitted a report to the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) in which he claimed that the matter was referred to a college committee for investigation.
DCW chairperson Barkha Shukla Singh had sought an action—taken report from Thampu on June 24.
In the report, Thampu said the girl had approached him on December 10 last year and complained to him that the accused professor — Satish Kumar — had allegedly committed acts of sexual harassment against her.
“The principal advises her to file a complaint with Internal Complaints Committee. She expresses herself vehemently against it, saying all she wants the Principal to do is to help her complete her Ph.D,” read the text of an excerpt from the report.
Thampu further said the student had met him again a week later along with her father and sister and reiterated her request that “earning a Ph.D” was her ardent wish.
“The complainant does not make any mention of the sexual harassment. The discussion proceeds cordially and an agreement is reached that the Ph.D work of the complainant will be completed by the end of July 2015 provided the complainant cooperated. The meeting ends on a happy note and the matter is treated as settled from both sides,” the report said.
