The North South University (NSU) authorities have reinstated part-time faculty Assistant Professor Md Atikur Rahman as a fact-finding committee found the allegations of his sexually harassing a female student to be false.
“No conclusive evidence supporting the allegation against the part-time faculty member was found,” a member of the committee, on condition of anonymity, confirmed to Dhaka Tribune on Sunday night.
The teacher was assaulted by some students of the university in the presence of the female student at Arabika coffee shop in Bashundhara Residential Area on April 11. The students forced the teacher to seek an apology.
Atik was relieved of duty the same day. A day later, the NSU authorities began investigating the allegations.
The teacher said he was asked by the student to meet her at the coffee shop to help her solve an academic issue. Her male friends, numbering 8-10, who were already waiting at the shop, swooped on him all of a sudden. He was dragged outside, beaten up and photographed.
The students claimed that, during the confrontation, Atik had tried to run away. But after he was caught, he offered them Tk100,000 so that they did not report the matter to the proctor office.
On August 22, the probe committee sent a letter to Atik confirming the withdrawal of the suspension order issued on April 12.
Atik, who is also a full-time assistant professor at the Department of Statistics of Jahangirnagar University, had been a “popular” teacher as per the internal evaluation of the NSU for the last three years.
“I have received a letter from the NSU vice chancellor. Now, who will take responsibility for the loss? How can I regain my honour?” Atik told Dhaka Tribune on Monday.
He alleged that the female student had requested him to leak question papers of a semester final examination.
Asked why a teacher had been dismissed without an investigation, Vice Chancellor Prof Atiqul Islam on Monday said: “The step was taken by the officials who were on the ground to handle the situation."
In April, Proctor Abu Noman said that it was the VC’s order to dismiss the teacher.
At the time, VC Prof Atiq said that it was impossible to send the teacher to class as the students were agitated. “Therefore, he was hastily relieved of all kinds of academic activities.”
Atik said when he was taken to the proctor's office, Abu Numan provoked the students to spread the pictures and videos of the assault on social media.
Soon after the incident, Atik filed two cases with Bhatara police station – one against the proctor and the other against the attackers.
Investigation Officer Sub-Inspector of Bhatara police Hasan Masud said that they were working on the matter sincerely. “Action will be taken soon,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
The VC on Monday said he would talk to the probe committee regarding the fate of the students who assaulted the teacher.
