Over 20 women staff accuse teacher of harassment in Chandigarh school

Over 20 women staffers at a government school in Chandigarh accused a male teacher of harassment and hostile behaviour under the POSH Act, 2013, prompting a district-level inquiry after an inconclusive internal committee report

Chandigarh: More than 20 female staffers of a government school here have lodged a harassment complaint against a male teacher, and accused him of creating a hostile work environment. A government official said a probe is underway in the matter. The women lodged a complaint under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH).

The complaint was lodged with the Internal Complaints Committee of the senior secondary school. In the complaint, the women accused their male colleague of creating a hostile, unsafe, and humiliating work environment. The teacher has a documented pattern of aggression, frequent altercations with employees, shouting, threatening conduct, and repeated acts of workplace intimidation, the complaint read.

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The women cited an incident in February, when the teacher allegedly shouted aggressively, moving uncomfortably close to them in an intimidating manner and passing threatening remarks.

“We demand that this complaint be immediately registered and placed before the Internal Complaints Committee for prompt inquiry as mandated by law, interim protective measures must be implemented without delay to ensure the safety and dignity of the complainants,” it said.

The complainants said that if an action is not taken against the teacher, they will approach the police. School Education director Nitish Singla said the ICC report was not conclusive. “The internal complaints committee gave its report, but it was not conclusive. There is another committee at the district level. I referred the matter to that committee, and they are conducting an enquiry, and they will submit a report. We are hearing both sides,” Singla told PTI on the phone.