The PhD student says she had been harassed by her supervisor, Professor Satish Kumar, since 2013.
The student who had accused a professor of St Stephen's college of sexual harassment, told NDTV today that the institute's Principal, Reverend Valson Thampu, "never stood by her" and was "only trying to shield the professor".
Refuting all that Mr Thampu wrote in a blog in NDTV -- starting with her not being a St Stephen's student to her withdrawing her complaint -- she said, "it seemed he was trying to help the man who harassed me".
The student, who was doing a PhD in Chemistry, says she had been harassed by her supervisor, Professor Satish Kumar, since 2013. She finally brought the matter to the principal's notice last year.
She said when she had met the principal with her parents, he had apologized and promised to take steps. But within days, his attitude changed and he sought to bury the sexual harassment charge.
Reverend Thampu, she said, asked her to withdraw her complaint from her head of department and the Internal Complaints Committee and repeatedly asked her to give it in writing that there was no problem save academic ones. When she refused, she said, "He told me, 'you can do your PhD from somewhere else'."
Her father, who, according to Revered Thampu, had "pleaded" that the matter not be turned into a complaint of sexual harassment, told NDTV that he wanted justice for his daughter.
In his blog to NDTV, Reverend Thampu had said the woman had not filed any complaint, it was filed by him. In fact, her letter to him mentioned, "don't wish this to be treated as a case of sexual harassment.... the matter should be treated as closed," he had written.
The woman said it was a line dictated by the principal himself. "By asking for statements, like it was only an academic problem, he was trying to destroy me," she said.
On Tuesday, Professor Kumar quit an important faculty post after a court refused to grant him protection from arrest. The central government has asked the college for a report on the allegations. Reverend Thampu, however, has said he will continue as an assistant professor.