A routine class took a dramatic turn at Sri Siddhartha Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre (SSIMRC), on the outskirts of Bengaluru, when a professor proposed a student in class and also claimed she initiated it. He then went on to say ‘I love you’ and tried to distribute chocolates in class. The professor’s claim triggered a confrontation that escalated into a scuffle between the students and the professor. The incident took place on March 23.
According to a video taken in the classroom, the professor, identified as Abdul Rehaman Sharif, claimed that a student had proposed to him and said that he reciprocated her feelings. In the video, he is heard saying, “I could not resist the immense love given by the batch, and I would like to propose to one of the most important girls of your batch, who has proposed to me, and I shall distribute chocolates to the entire batch. I love you.”
The student immediately objected and denied the claim, asking him to raise the matter with the college principal instead. “Excuse me! If you want to speak, you can go to the principal; the entire batch will come with you,” she said. When the professor questioned her and claimed there was CCTV footage to support his version, she responded, “Okay, show me that! Show me that!”
The professor then said he would address the issue the following day in the principal’s office and exited the classroom while asking students to have chocolates that had reportedly been arranged for distribution.
Soon after he left, the situation escalated into a confrontation. Another video shows a group of students surrounding the professor and physically assaulting him and verbally abusing him.
Following the incident, the college management lodged a complaint at the Nelamangala Rural Police Station. In the complaint, the principal of the college, Dr Divakar SV, said that he had received a complaint from women students on March 23 alleging that Dr Abdul Rehaman Sharif, an assistant professor in the microbiology department, had misbehaved on the college premises and sexually harassed them and sought the college’s protection.
The college then issued a notice to the professor to appear for questioning and instructed him not to enter the college premises while the inquiry was on. However, despite the directive, the professor returned to the campus later that day. The complaint further says that, in the evening, he forcibly held the hand of the student and misbehaved with her, adding that the incident led to an uproar among students and disrupted the atmosphere on campus.
A case has been registered under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75(1)(i) (physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures) and 329(3) (criminal trespass) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. According to the police, the professor has since been fired from the institution.
The college is a constituent college of Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education. Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara is the Chancellor of this deemed-to-be university.