The PhD student says she had been harassed by her supervisor, Professor Satish Kumar, since 2013
A researcher who has alleged sexual harassment by a professor at Delhi's prestigious St Stephen's college says its principal, Valson Thampu, tried to "destroy her" by getting her to put on paper that her complaint was an "academic problem."
The young woman has reacted sharply to Reverend Thampu's blog on NDTV on Sunday rebutting her allegation that he tried to shield the accused professor, Dr Satish Kumar.
"The principal never stood by me. He could have handled the case better. At first I thought he was helping me but he was helping my harasser," she told NDTV.
The woman, who was working on a PhD in Chemistry, has said in her complaint that she had been harassed by Dr Satish Kumar, who was her supervisor, since 2013.
In his blog, Reverend Thampu said the woman had refused to file a complaint against the professor and repeatedly said that she wanted to complete her doctorate under his mentorship. He also said that the woman wrote in a written complaint: "I don't wish this to be treated as a case of sexual harassment.... the matter should be treated as closed."
The woman told NDTV on Wednesday that it was the principal who directed her to do so.
"He asked me to write that this case should not be treated as a sexual harassment case. I asked him why I should write it when it isn't true. He said it's only for the time being," she said.
"I initially thought he was concerned about me, my degree, safety and dignity so I wrote all of that down," she explained.
The woman also alleges that later, the principal kept insisting she should write that it was an "academic problem." When she refused, he allegedly told her: "You can do your PhD from somewhere else."
Satish Kumar has resigned as college bursar after being denied protection from arrest by a court; he, however, continues to be in the faculty. Facing criticism for not removing him, Reverend Thampu today said that the college would cooperate fully with the investigation and so "the accused should not come to the college."