More than a month after a complaint of sexual harassment against Indian Institute of Management Rohtak director Dheeraj Sharma, the Rohtak police have proceeded to cancel the First Information Report in the case saying that the “allegations levelled against him were not substantiated”.
Station House Officer, Women's Police Station, Garima, told The Hindu that no evidence was found against Prof. Sharma during the investigation spanning more than a month and the police had now moved the local court seeking cancellation of the FIR.
‘Evidence overlooked’
The complainant, a former woman assistant professor of IIM-Rohtak, however, alleged that she was not satisfied with the investigation and the evidence produced by her was “overlooked”. She added that the police had failed to procure the closed-circuit television footage of two incidents — November 8, 2017 and March 9, 2018 — that could provide crucial evidence.
She said that she was not “shocked” by the decision of the police to cancel the FIR since the accused was “influential”.
The complainant said that she had also written to the Inspector General of Police, Rohtak, two days ago expressing dissatisfaction over the investigation.
‘DSP not neutral’
In an email, the victim pointed out that she had submitted indirect circumstantial evidence to prove that her termination was motivated and also said that “it is difficult for me to trust DSP Ramesh Kumar (the Investigation Officer) as his role has not been neutral in my case”.
The SHO, however, said that there was no CCTV footage available relating to the two incidents and the evidence submitted by the complainant did not prove her charges.
The 35-year-old woman, in her complaint to the police, had alleged that Prof. Sharma began sexually harassing her soon after her appointment to the post of assistant professor on September 1 last year on a probation period of three years.
The complainant, who was dismissed almost a month after she made an indicative complaint about Prof. Sharma’s behaviour to the institute’s board, had alleged in the FIR that the director would seek her views on extramarital relationships and make indecent remarks on her private life, looks and clothes.
‘Groped in cabin’
She also said that he would ask her out for evening strolls and even groped her inside her cabin on one occasion.
A case was registered at Rohtak’s Women Police Station on charges of an assault to outrage the modesty of a woman and making sexually coloured remarks under the IPC on May 29.
