The Bengaluru police on December 20 booked IIM Bangalore Director Rishikesh T Krishnan, along with the Dean (Faculty) and six other faculty members, following allegations of caste-based discrimination. The FIR was registered after an inquiry by the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) confirmed allegations of caste-based harassment made by Associate Professor Gopal Das, a Dalit scholar.
The FIR, registered at the Mico Layout Police Station, also names senior faculty members Dinesh Kumar, Sainesh G, Srinivas Praka, Chetan Subramanian, Ashish Mishra, Srilatha Jonalagedu, and Rahul De. They have been charged under Sections 3(1)(r) (insults or intimidates SC/ST person) and 3(1)(s) (abuses SC/ST person by caste name) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2014.
The allegations first surfaced in January 2024 when Associate Professor Gopal Das, a globally recognised Dalit scholar, wrote to President Droupadi Murmu during her visit to IIM Bangalore. In his letter, he detailed incidents of exclusion from institutional activities, restricted access to resources, and caste-based humiliation. Acting on a directive from the President’s office, the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) initiated an inquiry in March.
In May, Gopal Das escalated his complaint to P Manivannan, Principal Secretary of the Karnataka Social Welfare Department, alleging that the harassment intensified after the DCRE began its investigation.
The DCRE investigation, led by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Arun Chakravarthy, concluded in November. The inquiry report, submitted to the Social Welfare Department, found significant evidence of caste-based harassment and workplace exclusion. It accused Rishikesh Krishnan of publicly disclosing Gopal Das’s caste in a mass email circulated within the institute. The report also revealed that Rishikesh and Dean Dinesh Kumar denied Gopal Das equal opportunities in professional activities.
The report highlighted IIM-B’s failure to comply with statutory obligations to establish an institutional mechanism for addressing the grievances of SC and ST employees.
In response to the findings, the Karnataka Social Welfare Department on December 9 directed the Bengaluru Commissioner to initiate appropriate action against IIM-B officials under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2015.