The director of the Punjab Higher Education Department has sacked two guest lecturers and suspended the vice-chancellor and librarian, citing the findings of a three-member committee formed to probe the gang rape of a first-year student of Government Ripudaman College, Naha. Gross negligence”.
College principal Hartej Kaur has been asked to report to the office of the Council of Higher Education, Chandigarh until further orders.
The college set up a three-member committee to investigate the role of college staff after a first-year student was gang-raped by three outsiders on campus on March 27. The accused has been arrested.
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Confirming the development, Higher Education Department Director Amrit Singh said the action was taken based on the report submitted by the three-member committee.
“The committee found gross negligence on the part of vice-chancellor Aradhana Kamra and librarian Charanjeet Kaur while two guest lecturers Karampreet Kaur and Narinder Singh also did not discharge their duties properly. We have transferred the principal as the overall responsibility of managing the college lies with the head of the institution bear.”
The role of the librarian is suspected to be to issue library cards to outsiders. The accused were in possession of university library cards, which facilitated their easy access to the university campus.
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“All three arrested accused were in possession of library cards of the college, issued by the librarian. This allowed the accused to enter the college campus,” said a senior higher education ministry official familiar with the investigation report.
The officials further said that one of the two guest lecturers (who has since been fired) did not attend a scheduled class adjacent to the room where the gang rape took place. Moreover, another guest lecturer who was responsible for maintaining discipline in the college also did not perform his assigned duties well, the official added.
