St Stephen's principal Valson Thampu, who has been under attack for months for allegedly shielding a professor accused of molesting a research scholar, today asserted that supporting the teacher is the most "heroic" thing ever done by him.
While Thampu had maintained in past that the allegations against him are part of a "constructed controversy" by a few "vested interests", he had publically supported the professor earlier this week saying the complaint was a "diabolic lie".
"One of the HEROIC things I have ever done in my life is to have stood by Satish Kumar who was, I was absolutely convinced, framed maliciously, without any basis whatsoever, in the infamous and inhuman sexual harassment case.
"I did not 'shield a harasser', instead, I stood by a disabled colleague who was being hounded precisely because he was upright and incorruptible. Had I let him down, I would have died in shame. He was being hounded worse than a deer chased by a tiger," he said in a Facebook post.
The girl had approached police in July last year, alleging she was molested by Kumar, a Chemistry professor with 85 per cent disability, supervising her research.
She had also accused Thampu of "shielding" the assistant professor when the matter was reported to him. The allegations against Thampu had prompted certain sections of students, teachers and women rights group to demand his resignation.
Meanwhile, the complainant and her lawyer refused to comment on Thampu's statement saying they "will take an action at an appropriate time".
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Reacting to Thampu's remarks, a few alumni slammed him for his "choice of words" on social media.
"What pains me about Valson Thampu's illiterate rants is how little he understands St Stephen's and (he) has done irreparable damage to the uniqueness of the Stephanian ethos," said Amitabha Pande.
Another alumni said, "Thampu has such contempt for people (alumni, dhabbawallas) that it easily can be construed as streak of craziness."
"He is entitled to his brazen and crass views but his choice of words just shows how askance he is from the sentiments of most alumni (sic)," said alumni Shivinder Singh.
