On Thursday (28th March), a First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against a guest lecturer of the prestigious Vishva-Bharati University after being accused of sexual harassment. The varsity is located in Shantiniketan in the Birbhum district of West Bengal.
As per reports, the accused was identified as Abdullah Mollah. Three female students studying in the Persian, Urdu and Islamic Studies Department of the university have accused Mollah of inappropriately touching them and sending explicit messages on WhatsApp.
OpIndia has accessed the FIR filed by the Shantineketan police, wherein the victims have accused the faculty member of soliciting sexual favours in exchange for good marks in examinations.
The female students have said that Abdullah Mollah demanded hugs and kisses in return for ‘securing their future. According to them, he had also threatened to fail the students in the semester exams if they did not spend the night with him or respond to his sexual favours.
The victims had initially written to the Internal Complaint Committee of Visva Bharati. However, they received no response and were forced to approach the police. The cops have now initiated a probe into the matter.
In the meantime, the accused Abdullah Mollah has dismissed the accusations of sexual harassment
“I did not send any such message. I don’t know why the students are saying this. I have been here for so many years. There has never been any such complaint before. I have not sent any wrong message,” he claimed.
