Kalakshetra students protest against sexual harassment on campus

The institute declared holiday till April 6 and asked students to vacate hostel rooms within two days

Students at Kalakshetra held a protest inside the campus on Thursday demanding action against sexual harassment charges levelled by them against a senior faculty.

The students began their protest in the morning after boycotting the mandatory morning prayer in protest against the institute’s callous attitude in handling allegations of sexual harassment against Hari Padman. Several students of the institute had last week levelled several allegations of sexual harassment against Padman and accused the institute of not acting against their complaints.

The students held placards and shouted slogans against the institute’s management during the four-hour-long protest. The institute’s director Revathi Ramachandran did address the students but they accused her of sidestepping the allegations and skirting key issues raised by them.

Meanwhile, the institute declared holiday till April 6 and asked students to vacate their hostel rooms within two days.

During the protest, the students also demanded that the institute be made harassment-free. The institute has so far denied allegations of sexual harassment.

The protests by students come a day after National Commission for Women (NCW) chairman Rekha Sharma visited the campus and met students.