-Oindrila Duttagupta
After a year of speculation and discussion, the Executive Council of Delhi University finally decided to clear the docks and showed the door to DU reader Atul Razdan. Atul Razdan, a Reader in Mathematics in South Campus, was charged for sexually harassing a first year Mathematics student in 2007.
In March 2007, the student had complained to her department about the teacher who had allegedly demanded sexual favours from her. The department, however, had refused to take her complaint seriously. Following this, the student had taken a firm step and lodged an FIR at the Roop Nagar police station. It is only after this that the department had woken up and taken note of her complaint. DU formed a committee to probe the matter and subsequently found Razdan guilty. In August they filed a report which recommended his dismissal from service.
Since then Razdan had been on suspension and had also requested a stay on the order. He was still on the payroll of DU and was drawing a certain percentage of his salary. However, when he failed to show up with the correct documents time and again, the committee decided to sack him.
Tuesday, the 29th of July then was a jubilant day for DU students as they finally found justice which is rare in cases like these. Over the past two to three years, the university has observed a number of these cases though only a handful has made it till this stage. This judgement can surely be touted as one of Delhi University’s landmark achievements.
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