NIT Sexual Harassment Case: Lady Security Guards Record Statements

ROURKELA: Trouble continued to mount for the chief security officer Balram Champatiray of National Institute of Technology (NIT), Rourkela as seven lady security guards have lodged complaints against him of sexual harassment.

The security officer, on the other hand, has fled from the campus, and police have launched a search operation to nab him.

Champatiray has allegedly sexually exploited nine lady security guards.

While the police have recorded the statement of seven, two others would record their statements on Tuesday, said sources.

The victim lady security guards, in their FIR, alleged that the security officer had been regularly sexually abusing them since last five years and also threatening them to lose their job if they reveal about their sexual abuse to anyone.

“Acting on the complaint of lady security guards, a case has been registered, and we have also recorded their statements in front of the magistrate,” said P.K.Mishra, DSP Rourkela.

He said they are in search of the accused security officer.

The students of NIT, who were on a demonstration, demanding the expulsion of the security officer from his job, are still on agitation as they are now demanding the intervention of Ministry of Human Resource Development over the matter.

On 25th May, the students of NIT had staged a demonstration demanding expulsion of Champatiray, alleging sexual harassment to lady security personnel in the campus. Significantly, a video with displaying the sexual abuse of a lady security guard by the security officer also moved in social media and went viral.

The students claimed that presence of such a security person in the campus is unsafe for the girl students of the campus.

Acting on the complaints of the students, the NIT management had formed a fact-finding committee to probe into the matter. After fact-finding committee had submitted their report, NIT management placed security officer Champatiray on suspension.

As the situation in the NIT campus was strongly building up against security officer, he along with his family had left the campus on Saturday evening, for an unknown destination.

Following which the agitating students of the campus once again assembled in front of the administrative office and demanded to lodge an FIR against the security officer in the local police station by the NIT management.