Students of Madras University protest against head of dept

The protesters also alleged that HOD J Soundararajan had also sexually assaulted a female student and manhandled a male student during an argument in the class. According to them, the university authorities have not taken any action on their complaint.

“The incident happened last Tuesday when we requested the HOD to put the results on the notice board. Instead of heeding to our request, he started abusing all the students,” B Sivaprakash, a second year student, told DT Next.

During the argument, professor Soundararajan not only abused them but even hit a student who fell down, he claimed. “This is not the first case that the professor was using filthy language,” he alleged.

The female student who alleged that she was sexually assaulted said on condition of anonymity that the HOD kept his hand on her chest and pushed her. “When I held his collar and questioned his rude behaviour, he pushed me again,” she said, adding that the protest would continue till the professor is either dismissed or demoted.

When asked about the complaint, Registrar M Mathivanan said he received students’ complaint on March 17. The inquiry committee held a meeting on Thursday afternoon, he said, and said a detailed probe would be conducted on the matter.

However, denying the charges levelled against him, Professor Soundararajan said the students foisted the complaint against him to tarnish his reputation. The university authorities had asked the students to attend the meeting of the inquiry panel, which, however, they skipped. “Why did they do that? The truth will emerge and my innocence will be proved when the inquiry committee probes the issue,” he said.