This Article is From Dec 27, 2013

Kolkata law college official arrested for alleged sexual harassment of colleague

Kolkata law college official arrested for alleged sexual harassment of colleague

The controversy comes even as the National University of Juridical Sciences is trying to dissociate itself from the Justice Ganguly row.

Kolkata: A senior official in Kolkata's leading law college has been arrested six months after a colleague accused him of harassing her sexually and threatening her.

Siddhartha Guha, assistant registrar at the National University of Juridical Sciences, was questioned by Bidhannagar South police station in Kolkata on Thursday and later taken into custody.

"We had asked the accused to come to the police station in the evening. He did so. We spoke to him briefly before arresting him," said an officer.

Mr Guha has been booked under IPC sections 500 (defamation), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509 (outrage of modesty through words and gestures), 354 (outrage of modesty) and 354A (sexual harassment), and sections 66 and 67 of the Information Technology Act. He will be produced before a Kolkata court today.

The woman employee of the university had lodged a police complaint on July 26 alleging that Mr Guha had subjected her to sexual harassment, physical assault and criminal intimidation by threatening to throw acid on her.

The employee mentioned in her complaint that the law school authorities had been sitting on her complaint lodged with the vice-chancellor on June 12. In August, the university asked Mr Guha to go on leave without pay.

A second police complaint was then lodged in September, an officer said.

The police said the complainant had alleged that Mr Guha had initially made indecent proposals to her verbally. After she rejected the proposals, he allegedly sent her "objectionable" emails.

Mr Guha had moved Barasat court and Calcutta High Court for anticipatory bail but his pleas were turned down.

The controversy comes even as the National University of Juridical Sciences is trying to dissociate itself from the Justice Ganguly row.

Justice Ganguly is an honorary professor at the institution. The woman, who has accused the retired Supreme Court judge of sexual harassment, was also a student at NUJS, Kolkata.
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