The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday (October 18) filed a chargesheet against Professor Afifullah of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) after a PhD student accused him of sexual harassment. The University had conducted an internal probe in this case to give a clean chit to the Professor. However, the police during the investigation found the Professor guilty.
On 3rd October 2023, the Aligarh Judicial Magistrate approved the accusations and authorized the police to file a chargesheet against the professor. While exclusively talking to OpIndia, the victim student expressed gratitude to the Yogi government and the UP Police for conducting a fair and thorough inquiry. Furthermore, the AMU administration has also been accused of concealing the accused professor’s misconduct.
Aligarh Police had informed the victim that the charge sheet would be filed on 1st September 2023 itself, based on the information sought through IGRS. In the charge sheet, Aligarh Police stated that the student had submitted some pieces of evidence collected through WhatsApp or other electronic devices. These pieces of evidence according to the police prove the allegations of sexual harassment against the Professor.
The court of Judicial Magistrate, Aligarh had taken cognizance of the chargesheet on 3rd October 2023. Based on that, the court has given instructions to register a case against the Professor. The case has now been filed against Afifullah under section 354 (A) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. The Professor is likely to face a maximum of 3 years imprisonment and a fine in this case.
Bail approved with the condition of not leaving the country
The FIR in the case was registered in May this year. However, the accused had sought anticipatory bail from the Aligarh Sessions Court on June 28, 2023. The police had opposed the anticipatory bail of the accused.
In his application, Afifullah tried to shift the blame on the victim and declared himself innocent. The Sessions Court had granted conditional bail to Afifullah on this petition. The conditions of bail, however, included cooperating with the police in the investigation, neither threatening nor pressurizing the victim or witnesses, not leaving the country without permission, etc.
Afifullah has been granted anticipatory bail on a Rs 1 lakh bond. The surety has been granted by Abrar Ahmed Khan who has put up his licensed revolver as surety.
AMU had given clean chit to the accused
Accused Professor Afifullah is the Chairman of AMU’s Wildlife Science Department. On May 2, 2023, the victim e-mailed the AMU administration complaining about Afifullah’s misconduct. According to the complaint, Afifullah has been making indecent offers, doing obscene activities, making ludicrous demands, and making offensive comments about the lipstick and clothes of the victim for the past five years. AMU had constituted an internal committee of eight people to investigate this accusation.
The committee formed by the University included Seema Hakim, Sangeeta Singhal, Fazila Shahnawaz, Subuhi Afzal, Adeela Sultana, Alvia Farheen, Maria Shahid, and Javed Saeed. All of them, in their investigation report dated 26 May 2023, had described Professor Afifullah as having good character. In the report, the victim was accused of being weak in English. The investigation team had said that the root of this dispute was a monetary transaction of Rs 25 thousand that is said to have happened between the duo. Mohammad Imran, Joint Registrar of AMU Administration, issued another letter on August 1 and justified the clean chit given to Afifullah on May 26.
FIR was filed on May 26 2023
After the AMU administration cleared Professor Afifullah, the victim filed an FIR with the Aligarh Police on May 26, 2023. This FIR was filed at the women’s police station in accordance with Section 354 of the IPC. After nearly 5 months of inquiry by Police Inspector Sarita Dwivedi, a charge sheet under IPC 354 (A) has been filed against Afifullah.
Victim thanks UP government, UP Police
The victim thanked Yogi Adityanath and the UP Police while exclusively talking to OpIndia. She informed that Aligarh Muslim University had attempted to conceal similar episodes of harassment not only against her but also against many other girls. According to the victim, the university management shields persons like Afifullah since the campus is full of people who embrace what he believes. After taking action on one, action must be taken on the others as well, she said.
The victim also mentioned that her studies were jeopardized. Despite repeated pleas, AMU management has refused to provide them with female academic assistance to finish their PhD. The victim additionally asserts that when terrorists are sponsored at AMU, the administration remains silent, but when a female demands justice for herself, everyone gang up against her.
