Professor Saiful Islam, chairman of Theater and Performance Studies department of Dhaka University, has been suspended from his job over an allegation of sexual harassment against him.
The decision came from a syndicate meeting over the matter, DU Proctor Amzad Ali and Dhaka University Teachers’ Association General Secretary Professor Maksud Kamal told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Saiful Islam has been released from any kind of academic and administrative activities in the university,” they said.
Professor Saiful was issued a show cause notice with an obligation to reply to it within next ten days, they informed.
They also said if Professor Saiful defends himself as innocent in the reply, the university authority will form a probe committee to investigate into the matter and take action against him if he is proved guilty of the allegation.
According to the students, the victim student had been asked to meet the department head several times since September 8, citing that she had gotten poor marks in examinations and needed consultancy.
After getting the phone calls from the department, the student talked to her department teacher several times Mrs Wahida Mallick Jolly over the issue.
Later on September 13, the student again received a phone call from the department head and went to meet him around 3:53pm.
At one stage of talking, the teacher allegedly tried to harass her sexually. Later, the victim managed to flee the scene.
She also recorded the conversation between her and the department head and made his classmates listen to it.
However, claiming himself not guilty, Chairman of Theater and Performance Studies of Dhaka University Dr Md Saiful Islam has submitted his resignation letter and demanded a fair probe over the allegation of sexual harassment against him.
Protesting sexual harassment, agitating students of Dhaka University have staged a sit-in demonstration in front of the Vice Chancellor’s office on the campus on Monday evening.
They demanded life time ban on Dr Md Saiful Islam as the syndicate meeting is on progress in this connection.
The students wearing black ribbons were chanting slogans to remove the alleged teacher immediately.
“We will not move from this place unless our demands are fulfilled,” Safwan Mahmud, master’s student of the department of Theater and Performances Studies told the Dhaka Tribune.
Earlier in the day, the agitated students of the Theater and Performance Studies department confined Dr Md Saiful Islam inside his office, following an allegation of sexually harassing a female student of the department.
