Professor Dr Mohammad Saiful Islam, chairman of theatre and performance studies department, has been suspended in connection with a sexual harassment on the campus yesterday.
The decision was made during an emergency syndicate meeting last evening in this connection. The accused teacher was also awarded with a show-cause notice, to be replied to within 10 days, on why he would not be permanently banished from the university, Dhaka University Teachers’ Association General Secretary Dr Maksud Kamal told the Dhaka Tribune following the meeting.
The accused teacher had allegedly been calling a female student of his department since September 8, asking her to meet him. He told the student that she needed consultancy to improve her result.
The victim had informed Wahida Mallik, another teacher of the department, about the phone calls.
However, Wahida could not be reached over her phone for her comments in this regard, despite several attempts.
On September 13, the victim again received a phone call from the department head and went to his official residence near the international hall of the university around 4pm.
Being suspicious, the student kept the sound recorder of her phone on while entering the teacher’s residence. At one stage, the teacher tried to abuse the student, and she somehow managed to flee, her classmates said.
Earlier yesterday, the students locked the chairman in one of their classrooms (room 6006) for two hours when they came to know about the situation and listened to the recorded conversation. They also submitted a three-page long complaint letter and a recorded disk of the conversation to the vice-chancellor and proctor of the university, demanding immediate punitive measures against the accused.
Later, DU acting proctor Amzad Ali and other assistant proctors rushed to the spot and freed the chairman.
In face of the students’ agitation, the chairman had submitted a resignation letter to the registrar of the university and demanded a fair probe into the allegations.
However, the agitated students again confined him as they did not get immediate responses from the authorities concerned. The agitated students said Dr Saiful would be released after the announcement of his permanent suspension.
Acting proctor Amzad Ali told the Dhaka Tribune: “We have listened to the recorded conversation and found that the demands of the students are not illogical.”
Meanwhile, the agitated students had released the accused following the syndicate meeting decision, saying they were satisfied with the decision.
Contacted, accused Dr Mohammad Saiful Islam, on the other hand, denied the allegations, terming it as conspiracy. He also demanded proper investigation into the allegations.