Visva ‘bad name’ worry

TT, Santiniketan, Sept. 4: Senior officials of Visva-Bharati today held a meeting to discuss ways on how to prevent the first-year student who had accused three seniors of sexually harassing her from quitting the varsity.

The officials feared that if the Kala Bhavana student left the varsity, it could give the institution a “bad name”. The girl’s father had said yesterday that his daughter would no longer study in the university. 

“Some officials proposed that the university send a team to the girl’s home to convince her parents to send her back,” a senior official said.

The meeting was attended by vice-chancellor Sushanta Dattagupta and Sushovan Banerjee, the President’s nominee to Visva-Bharati. 

Banerjee, a Congress leader, said: “It will shameful if the girl quits Visva-Bharati.” 

Repeated calls to the VC went unanswered.

Almost a year ago, a Patha Bhavan student forced to lick urine by her hostel warden left the institution despite efforts to retain her.

Sources said a two-member team from the University Grants Commission would arrive in Santiniketan on Saturday to look into the steps taken by the varsity following the Kala Bhavana student’s complaint. 

The girl, who had complained that three seniors had extorted her by threatening to circulate “objectionable pictures”, was yesterday admitted to Burdwan Medical College Hospital after she fell unconscious frequently. Doctors said the girl was stable.