Shivamogga (Karnataka), June 25 (IANS) The medical students of the Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences (SIMS), on Wednesday, held a protest on the institute’s premises, demanding the immediate arrest of associate professor Ashwin Hebbar, an accused in a sexual harassment case.

Following the lodging of an FIR and initiation of an investigation by the college management, the accused professor has gone missing.

Students wore black badges on campus and held a silent protest to express their outrage.

The incident occurred on June 14, when a female second-year postgraduate student in the Department of Surgery was allegedly sexually harassed by Ashwin Hebbar, an associate professor in the Department of General Surgery at SIMS, during a work-related social gathering.

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the accused has not been suspended.

The protesting students said that every student deserves to study in an environment that is respectful, secure, and free from fear.

“We expect appropriate punishment to be taken immediately to prevent the recurrence of such incidents,” they said.

“We are issuing this statement in light of recent events involving an incident of sexual harassment within our institution. A complaint was submitted to the college administration and the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) on June 19. On June 20, an FIR was registered at the women’s police station. Since then, the accused has allegedly been absconding and has not yet been arrested,” the students said.

The SIMS administration reported the incident to the Department of Medical Education and the Principal Secretary of the Medical Department on June 24.

The students also alleged that this is not the first such incident involving Ashwin Hebbar.

In 2022, he had allegedly sexually harassed an intern in the Outpatient Department (OPD), for which a complaint was filed with the ICC and an FIR was registered.

This case is currently under stay by the High Court.

Meanwhile, the Shivamogga District Lawyers’ Guild has also demanded that the accused be arrested immediately.

The Shivamogga Women’s Police Station has registered an FIR under Section 75 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, against the accused professor.

According to the FIR, the complainant initially delayed approaching the police, having first shared the incident with her friends and father and taking time to recover from the trauma.

The FIR details that the incident took place at a hotel during a get-together organised to celebrate the completion of thesis submissions.

Several associate professors, including female professors, were present.

When the event began, the accused allegedly asked the victim to sit beside him. She complied and had some starters in the evening. As the main course was delayed, the accused, seated to her left, allegedly placed his hand on her thigh.

The victim, startled, respectfully asked him to remove his hand. Though he withdrew it, he allegedly placed it again a minute later and began rubbing her thigh, according to the FIR.

To stop this, the victim placed both her hands on her thighs, but the accused allegedly began holding her hands. Even after she tried to pull her hand away, he continued holding it and allegedly resumed touching her thighs for 20 to 25 minutes.

The victim felt embarrassed and humiliated and was unable to share the experience with anyone at the time. One of the professors reportedly asked her why she appeared upset, noting that she seemed visibly disturbed.

After returning to her hostel, she confided in her friends.

Three days later, after recovering from the shock, she informed her father.

On June 19, she lodged a complaint with the head of the department, Mohammad Arif, followed by a formal complaint to the Internal Complaints Committee, the FIR said.

In her statement to the police, the victim urged them to take action against Ashwin Hebbar. She also noted his previous involvement in a 2022 sexual harassment case.

“Ashwin Hebbar is a habitual offender who harasses women. No one else should have to go through such trauma,” she said.

–IANS

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