SHILLONG: Peeved at the decision of the Executive Council of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) to reinstate Professor F.A. Qadri, NEHU Students’ Union (NEHUSU) has demanded for an immediate inquiry into the reinstatement of Qadri and to punish him accordingly.
Qadri, Professor of the Department of History, was alleged by NEHUSU to have been legally found guilty of sexual harassment by the women cell. He was alleged to have sexually harassed one of the research scholars of the History department on August 26 last year.
NEHUSU took exception to the report given by the Emergent Executive Council on October 17, 2017 wherein the process of investigation, Qadri was reinstated with certain conditions.
He was reinstated with certain conditions which included withholding of increment till his superannuation, no administrative responsibilities in future, he will not be allotted any research scholars further and no further promotion.
Commenting on the reinstatement of Qadri, president of NEHUSU, Pynkmenlang Sanmiet, said, “If he is not guilty, then why impose certain conditions? It shows that there is something behind as to why the conditions were made.”
In this connection, as a mark of protest, a section of the NEHUSU locked the chamber of Qadri and later burnt his effigy at the premises of the University, all the while shouting out slogans of “We want justice, sexual harassment: shame, shame.”
Sanmiet, said, “The decision of the executive council of the university to reinstate him in the department has prompted us to burn the effigy and lock the chamber of FA Qadri.”
He stated that the union is angry with the decision of the executive council as he alleged that Qadri was a habitual offender, he said, “It is disheartening that the university is trying to protect him.”
He said that Qadri who previously taught at Manipur University, had previous records of sexual harassment. “We don’t want such people to teach us here,” he said.
The union also seeks to pressurise the administration to expel Qadri who Sanmiet alleged has tarnished the reputation of the University.
As for the next step of the Union, he said that the union would call the general body meeting and would initiate different steps, if the university administration maintains its silence.
With many cases of sexual harassment surfacing in the University, he said, “We will send a very clear message to the University administration to implement the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as per the Act of 2013 as without the ICC it will be difficult for us to solve such cases.”