Teachers accused of harassment complain to KU body, FIA about smear campaign

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Two faculty members of Karachi University (KU) on Friday filed complaints with the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Cyber Crime Cell and the varsity’s disciplinary committee against a student of the mass communication department, Tehamas Ali Khan, who had earlier submitted an application to a KU body seeking an inquiry into alleged sexual harassment of students by teachers.The varsity in a statement issued on Friday said the disciplinary committee was likely to announce its decision on Monday. The meeting of the committee, which was held on Friday, thoroughly investigated Tehamas’s allegations and reserved its decision to be announced on Monday, the statement read.An assistant professor of the mass communication department, Dr Osama Shafiq, had submitted a complaint to the committee, in which he had alleged that Tehamas Ali Khan was deliberately involved in his character assassination. The committee will send its report to Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan.Dr Shafiq also filed an application with the FIA Cyber Crime Cell. It read that Tehamas had been declared failed in three papers and he was consistently pressurising Dr Shafiq into awarding him passing marks in those papers. “[Tehamas] has initiated a maligning campaign in which he accused me [of] harassment and spreading sectarian hatred which is not true.”Dr Shafiq said he was worried as recently a student in Faisalabad killed his teacher while two teachers of KU, Dr Yasir Rizvi and Dr Shakil Ouj, had lost their lives over such allegations in the past. “If I suffered any harm, Tehamas Ali Khan would be responsible.”Meanwhile, another teacher of the department, Noman Ansari, told The News that Tehamas had endangered his life. “I declared him failed in two papers and referred his case to the KU’s Examination Committee for further assessment. But Khan believes that I am responsible for his loss.”“My whole career was damaged as I had secured the second position to be appointed as a permanent faculty in the department, but after Khan’s campaign, I was not allowed to appear before the selection committee,” Ansari said.When contacted, Tehamas said, “I wasn’t declared failed only in three papers but in five papers. However, it is not about my results or exams; it is a matter of harassment.” He maintained that he had evidence which he would present before the harassment committee or any other forum. “One of the victims on Friday went live on TV and she exposed the teachers who were involved in harassing her,” he said. He claimed that three of the victims of sexual harassment on Friday approached the VC where they adopted the same stance which he had written in his application.

from The News International - Karachi http://bit.ly/2Je1WDq
The News International - Karachi