Vasanth Shetty, dean of the Government Veterinary College in Hassan, was arrested on Thursday evening on the charge of harassing and humiliating an assistant professor who is from a Scheduled Caste.
The Hassan Extension police have booked a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against him.
H. Devaraj Naik, assistant professor in Dairy Sciences, filed a complaint on June 11 alleging that the dean abused him referring to his caste, did not allow him to report to duty in the college and also denied him a chance to pursue his Ph.D.
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“When I was transferred to Hassan from Bidar in July 2012, the dean did not allow me to report to duty. He abused me and did not allot any work in the college. I was not even given a chair in the college,” the complainant said.
The dean also rejected to forward his application to pursue Ph.D. in the Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University in Bidar, Mr. Naik alleged. “I requested him many times to forward my application. But he refused and put a note on the application stating that I did not require higher education. That hurt me the most,” he said.
Mr. Naik said he had brought the issue to the notice of higher authorities in the university in Bidar. They did not respond. Later, he sent a complaint to the Karnataka State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, which sought a report from the Hassan district police.
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“Irritated by the complaints, the dean filed a complaint in the Dudda police station accusing me of defaming him by making false allegations. Fed up with the turn of events, I filed a complaint with the Hassan police,” he said.
Dr. Shetty was produced in the court on Thursday evening and was remanded in judicial custody for a day. As he complained of chest pain and heart problems, he was admitted to the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences hospital. His judicial custody has been extended by one more day.