Following allegations of sexual harassment, the Telangana government on Sunday, August 13 suspended Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in-charge Harikrishna from the Telangana State Sports School in Hakimpet near Hyderabad. Allegations that Harikrishna sexually harassed girl students at the sports school came to light on Sunday morning through a news report in Telugu daily Andhra Jyothy titled ‘Ikkadaa o Brij Bhushan’ (We have a Brij Bhushan here too), referring to BJP MP and former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh who has been accused of sexual harassment by several women wrestlers.
Without naming Harikrishna, the report alleged that an official at the Hakimpet sports school had been staying at the hostel often, summoning girl students to his room at night on the pretext of bringing him pain balm, and sexually harassing them. It also alleged that he often took students out of the school alone and misbehaved with them, and that a woman official of the school and other coaches were aware but overlooked his behaviour. The report alleged that a complaint had been filed with the Sports Authority of Telangana but no action was taken as the official enjoys the patronage of a state Minister.
After the report was published, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC Kavitha Kalvakuntla, who is the daughter of Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, asked state Sports and Youth Affairs Minister V Srinivas Goud to take immediate action against the accused official and conduct a full-fledged investigation to ensure justice to the survivors. Following this, Srinivas Goud announced that the accused official has been suspended and that a five-member committee has been set up to look into the allegations.
ఒక దినపత్రిక లో వచ్చిన కథనం నన్ను ఎంతో కలిచివేసింది. సీఎం కేసీఆర్ గారి నాయకత్వంలో పని చేస్తున్న తెలంగాణ ప్రభుత్వంలో ఇలాంటి వాటికి తావు ఉండకూడదు.
— Kavitha Kalvakuntla (@RaoKavitha) August 13, 2023
బాలిక పై లైంగిక వేధింపుల ఆరోపణలు ఎదుర్కొంటున్న అధికారిపై తక్షణం చర్యలు చేపట్టాలని, పూర్తి స్థాయి విచారణ జరిపించి, బాధితురాళ్లకు న్యాయం…
తెలంగాణ రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వం మహిళల సంక్షేమం, ఆభివృద్ది, సాధికారత కోసం ఎన్నో కార్యక్రమాలను నిర్వహిస్తుంది.
— V Srinivas Goud (@VSrinivasGoud) August 13, 2023
క్రీడాకారిణిలకు, వారి తల్లిదండ్రులకు భరోసా కల్పించేందుకు వారిలో ధైర్యం నింపేందుకు వెంటనే చర్యలను చేపట్టాము.
గతంలో మహిళల పట్ల జరిగిన లైంగిక వేధింపులపై రాష్ట్ర ప్రభుత్వం…
“The committee will submit its report in two to three days, and if the official is found guilty, strict action will be taken,” Minister Srinivas Goud told the media. He added that no complaint had been received from the students yet, but action was taken after the allegations came to his notice.
Meanwhile, Harikrishna, the OSD facing suspension, has been replaced by another official, Sudhakar.