Gopalganj university to investigate sexual harassment allegations

University’s registrar Dr Nuruddin Ahmed told Dhaka Tribune of the measure on Wednesday, after admitting that he had received a harassment complaint written by the victim, a fourth year female student of the accounting department, herself. “Necessary actions will be taken after the committee submits its report,” he added. The student had lodged the written complaint with the department chair on February 12, accusing Rabiul Islam, a lecturer of the accounting department at BSMRSTU, of sexually harassing her. According to the complaint, the teacher had developed a romantic relationship with the student and was physically intimate with her on multiple occasions through false promises of marriage. The teacher last asked the student to visit his house on January 14 and had sexual intercourse with her. Subsequently the teacher had been maintaining distance from the student, the complaint read. The complaint added that the teacher had been attempting to quiet the student through threats of expulsion and other means. However, Rabiul denied the allegations against him, claiming them to be false and motivated. “The student, along with her parents, met the vice chancellor and other teachers and withdrew the harassment allegations after realising her fault,” Rabiul added. A reliable source of the university said that the alleged teacher had a close relationship with the university’s vice chancellor and his elder brother Md Kamal Hossain, who was the chair of the statistics department. Rabiul had been using the relationship to exercise undue privileges, the source added. Surprisingly, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the university Dr Khandakar Nasiruddin was yet to receive word of the allegation. “I will take actions according to the rules once I receive the allegation,” Nasiruddin told the Dhaka Tribune.BSMRSTU student protestsMeanwhile, BSMRSTU authorities accepted on Wednesday the 5-point demands made by protestors regarding the incident of student Suborna Majumder Gurutar getting injured by a bus. The demands included payment of the injured student’s hospital fees, the arrangement of employment at the university, compensation for her family, an expulsion order for the driver and the instalment of a speed-breaker in front of the gate. The protestors had placed their demands around 11:30am and surrounded the residence of University VC Dr Khandakar Nasiruddin at about 1:30pm. The VC announced that the demands would be accepted after giving an apology along with teachers.