Union minister Suresh Gopi accused of delaying action in sexual complaint in SRFTI

In a blogpost, the Women Against Sexual Harassment (WASH), a Kolkata-based forum run by survivors of sexual violence in the campus, has claimed that Gopi is hesitating to take action against a top official in the institution though the preliminary findings have been submitted in October last year.

A former student and professor had filed the complaint on May 9, 2024, in which she alleged physical assault, sexual harassment, casteist remarks, criminal intimidation, blackmail, threats and the use of abusive and vulgar language by a top official in the institution.

The SRFTI’s Internal Committee has already submitted its preliminary investigation.

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Delay in taking action

According to WASH, the complainant contacted the forum because the institute was allegedly delaying taking any action in the case. According to the complainant, the report was finalised in October and the Governing Council, headed by Suresh Gopi, has not acted upon it. This has delayed the next stage of the inquiry, said WASH

In its blogpost, WASH wrote, "The ICC submitted its Preliminary Investigation Report in the case on 30th October 2024. This report was placed before the Governing Council led by the chairperson of the institute and GC, actor and Bharatiya Janata Party Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi, before the second stage of the inquiry could begin. The chairperson refused to comply with the recommendations in the ICC report fully even after two and a half months."

Apart from the ICC complaint, the complainant had also filed a police complaint for assault against this man, "who still holds his position of power in the said institute which has a long history of sexual harassment complaints", said the blogpost.

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Dangerous message

The accused has also approached the Calcutta high court to contest the findings of the IC. The court set a six-month deadline for the final inquiry to be submitted by December. The forum has said that the delay in giving justice to the complainant sends a "dangerous message" to other women facing harassment.

Meanwhile, the complainant feared that the "delay in the issuing of the chargesheet is an attempt to dilute the charges especially considering the fact that the accused had earlier done it in the police case" she filed.

The case has once again highlighted SRFTI’s history of sexual harassment allegations, which previously led to the forced retirement of two professors.

The WASH statement said, "Currently, we are trying to rally support for the complainant and contact social workers, elected representatives of the people, and activists regarding the matter. If these efforts aren't effective, we intend to organise protests in Calcutta, organising the students of SRFTI, Jadavpur University etc. While we can't speculate on why the chairperson is delaying the issuing of the chargesheet, we are aware that this has been a trend in SRFTI with respect to sexual harassment cases."