Imphal: Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam has been booked in a sexual harassment case days after his dismissal as a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
The First Information Report (FIR) was registered on October 11 following a complaint lodged by JNU’s chief security officer, according to Delhi Police officials.
A case has been registered against Akoijam, who represents Inner Manipur in the Lok Sabha, at the Vasant Kunj North police station. The FIR invokes Sections 75, 75(1)(i), 75(1)(iv) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deal with sexual harassment and acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman, among other offences.
Akoijam, who was dismissed from his position at JNU on October 9, had described the action as a “witch hunt”. He also claimed that he had not been given an opportunity to respond to the findings of the committee that examined the allegations against him.
He served as a professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems under JNU’s School of Social Sciences. His dismissal followed an inquiry into sexual harassment allegations against him, which he has denied.
According to reports, at least 11 female students had filed sexual harassment complaints against the professor in May this year.
The complaints alleged that Akoijam invited students to his campus residence under the pretext of meetings or gatherings and attempted to sexually harass them. Some students also alleged that he made obscene and inappropriate remarks in class.