A suspended professor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who was accused of molestation has been reinstated by the university, sparking off a protest by the students on Saturday. 

Students Protest

The students have begun a protest on late Saturday night demanding the suspension of the professor who allegedly made obscene remarks and vulgar comments during an academic trip to Odisha in October 2018. The students had filed a complaint against the professor to women’s grievance cell of the university and also submitted the complaint to Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Executive Council, Rakesh Bhatnagar. The professor was expelled from the university but has been reinstated again after an eight-month suspension. 

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According to a senior official of the University, the allegations against Chaube were investigated by the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC). “The committee spoke to all the students who filed the complaint, eyewitnesses and some others. The committee also spoke to the accused professor. On the basis of all the statements, the committee found allegations against Chaube to be true,” he said. The committee had recommended strict action against Chaube in its report submitted to the administration. However, the executive council revoked the suspension after censuring the professor. The professor has claimed that he is innocent and the charges against him are all falsely implicated by those envious of his progress.

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Professor will never hold an administrative position

The professor has now been censured and reinstated. The VC has said that strict punishment has been given to the accused professor which will impact his service record and he won’t be able to hold any administrative position in the future. He appended that the professor was suspended only till the completion of inquiry as a part of the procedure and the executive council has given him a setback by making the allegations a part of his service record further stating that he will not be allowed to conduct any educational tours in the future. 

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