LU asst prof held for harassing girl student

Lucknow: While police arrested the zoology teacher of Lucknow University accused in sexual harassment case on Saturday, more shocking details on how the said assistant professor used to pester the girl student came to the fore.The teacher was detained on Friday night by the Hasanganj police after an FIR was lodged against him by LU administration. He was formally arrested on Saturday on charges of outraging the modesty of women and under sections of Uttar Pradesh Public Examination (prevention of unfair means) Act 2024. Police produced the accused before a local court, which remanded him to judicial custody for 14 days.Investigators also seized his laptop and a mobile phone. They will be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination.ACP Mahanagar Ankit Kumar, who is the investigating officer in the case, said, “If needed, we will seek police custody and remand for further interrogation.”Police would soon move court seeking permission to obtain the accused professor’s voice samples as part of the investigation. The samples will be matched with audio recordings linked to the case.Police said the statement of the complainant student before a magistrate could not be recorded as she cited uneasiness and health-related issues and sought additional time.When contacted, the complainant girl recounted how it started when she approached the accused teacher a few months ago requesting for extra time for submission of assignment due to a medical emergency in the family. He gave time, but thereafter, started calling late at night in a drunken state asking to come to his cabin to submit the assignment, she recalled. She rejected all the advances.In another instance, the assistant professor allegedly called the girl before her viva presentation, claiming he had already “fixed” everything with the invigilator, asking her to meet him in his cabin. She refused again.However, when the late night calls did not stop, the girl started recording them. A few days ago, the teacher allegedly called again and offered to leak two question papers, if she agrees to let him meet her alone. This time, the girl made the recorded audio public and lodged a complaint with the proctor office. Subsequently, LU’s controller of examination filed an FIR against the assistant professor.