Students of a private college on Sathy Road in Coimbatore staged a protest on Thursday seeking action against its chairman after a video clip of him making sexual advances towards a non-teaching staff member went viral on social media and mobile messaging platforms.
The students and members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) blocked several buses of the institution. They withdrew the protest after the police held talks with their leaders.
In the video clip, he is forcibly hugging and kissing a woman employee inside an office on two occasions.
Two days ago, the victim filed a complaint with the Thudiyalur police station, accusing the college chairman of making sexual advances towards her for the last six months.
She said she did not disclose the matter to anyone as she feared she might lose her job, but the harassment increased, prompting her to lodge the complaint.
The victim said she had complained about the incidents to the chairman’s son, the technical director of the college. However, he threatened to sack her and sought to play down the incident, saying hugging and kissing were common in foreign countries. The woman, with the help of her friend, recorded the sexual advances made by him using a hidden camera.
Meenambigai, inspector of the All Women Police Station, Thudiyalur, said the woman had come to the station with the complaint on Tuesday, but withdrew it later in the day.
