Bengaluru: Professor booked after proposing to student; thrashed on campus
Bengaluru (PTI): A professor at a medical college near here was allegedly thrashed by students after he proposed to a female student in a classroom, with videos of the incident going viral on social media, police said on Thursday.
He has been booked on charges of sexual harassment, they said.
The incident, which occurred on March 23 at a medical college in Nelamangala taluk on the outskirts of Bengaluru, came to light after videos of the proposal surfaced online, police said.
The clips, which have since gone viral, drew sharp criticism.
In one of the videos, the accused professor is heard proposing to the student, claiming that she had confessed her "feelings" to him. The student denied the claim and objected to his proposal.
The situation later escalated on campus, with videos showing the agitated student confronting the professor. She was seen hitting him with slippers, while other students joined in, allegedly assaulting and abusing him.
Based on a complaint filed by the college principal on Thursday, a case has been registered at the Nelamangala Rural Police Station against the accused under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75(1) (sexual harassment), and 329(3) (criminal trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, a senior police officer said.
According to the FIR, the complainant stated that the accused, an assistant professor in the Microbiology Department, had been behaving inappropriately on the college premises and sexually harassing female students.
Students had earlier submitted complaints seeking protection, following which the college issued a notice to the professor, directing him to appear for an inquiry and restraining him from entering the campus during the process, it said.
However, on March 23, the accused allegedly entered the college premises in violation of the directive and forcibly held the hand of a female student, behaving in an obscene and inappropriate manner, the FIR stated.
The incident caused distress among students and disrupted the academic atmosphere at the college, it added.
The complaint further alleged that despite being barred from entering the campus, the accused trespassed into the premises, misbehaved with the student, and harassed others as well, police added.
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Bengaluru setting benchmark not competing with Hyderabad or any other city: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday asserted that Bengaluru is setting a benchmark, and it is not competing with Hyderabad or any other city.
Shivakumar, who is also the Minister for Bengaluru Development, was responding to opposition leader R Ashoka's demand urging him to react, after Telangana CM Revanth Reddy reportedly mocked Bengaluru's traffic congestion and pollution while promoting Hyderabad, recently.
"Bengaluru is not competing with any city. Bengaluru is setting a benchmark. Bengaluru will always lead and others have to follow. Bengaluru has its own unique challenges and we will handle them effectively. Cities are not judged by complaints, but by contributions. Bengaluru will always grow high," Shivakumar said during the discussion on the city's issues in the Legislative Assembly.
He said he did not want to discuss Hyderabad or other cities.
Noting that in a survey on Global Tech Market Top Talent, Bengaluru ranks 6th globally, while Hyderabad is at 24th place, the Deputy CM said, "We do not need to compete with Hyderabad. Bengaluru is not competing with Hyderabad. Bengaluru has 250 engineering colleges and 70 medical colleges. No other state in the country has this. Our state is producing 13,940 doctors."
"Talents nurtured here are going abroad -- 50 per cent have stayed back. ISRO, the first national law school, HMT industries, and ITI were all established here. This is why Bengaluru has grown, and we want to preserve this," he added.
The whole country is watching Bengaluru. "When I went to the Davos Summit, I saw the priority given to Bengaluru there. Companies from America and Europe are asking for time to discuss investment. Bengaluru is setting a benchmark for other cities," he said.
Highlighting the various infrastructure projects taken up in Bengaluru under the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, he, however, said, "Now, no grants are coming from the Centre for Bengaluru city's development. I had met the Prime Minister and appealed. I had hoped Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance Minister) would help, but she did not. We are managing from our own funds."
Noting that he came to Bengaluru at age 6 and has stayed here ever since, the Deputy CM said, "Bengaluru has given me everything. I must give something back to Bengaluru."
"I cannot be here (in politics) forever. I may be in politics for another 10-15 years at most. I am trying to contribute something in the opportunity I have been given. I alone cannot do everything. All of you must also give valuable suggestions to me in this democratic system," he appealed.
Pointing out that even though the traffic issues in Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Delhi are worse than Bengaluru, the city gets more coverage for its issues, Shivakumar said. "We have taken many steps on traffic. Roads in Bengaluru are only 8 per cent of the area. Road widening is needed, but after the 2013 compensation legislation, compensation must be given at double the rate. So road widening is impossible." That is why the government is going ahead with the Bengaluru Business Corridor, he said.
"Land owners have been given compensation under the 2013 Act. For Phase 1 of the project, 80 per cent of land acquisition has been approved. Tenders will be called soon. This road will ease half of Bengaluru's traffic congestion. Thanks to HUDCO for agreeing to provide a loan of Rs 26,000 crore in a single day for this project," he said.
Noting that since road widening inside the city is impossible, the government is proceeding to build tunnel roads, the Deputy CM said, there is no other option to ease Bengaluru's traffic.
"For the tunnel road, land acquisition at a few points will cost Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crore. Beyond that, Rs 17,000 crore is needed for road construction. There is a big difference between our tender and tunnel road tenders in other states. Our cost will be Rs 700-Rs 800 crore per km, while other states have spent Rs 1,300-Rs 1,400 crore per km," he explained.
Shivakumar said the government was committed to bringing in the Apartment Act and to implement it.
"I will discuss with opposition MLAs and gather their opinion. It will then be implemented even through an ordinance if necessary," he said.
Stating that potholes exist everywhere, the Deputy CM said, "We have largely filled Bengaluru's potholes. Rs 1,700 crore has been spent on 150 km of new roads. We were the first in the country to allow the public to report potholes to the corporation. Filling potholes is an ongoing process and we are continuing it."
