A central university in Sichar, southern Assam, has suspended a social work teacher over charges of sexual harassment, an official order said.
In the order issued on Wednesday (May 7, 2025), Assam University registrar Pradosh Kiran Nath said assistant professor Ajit Kumar Jena has been suspended for 90 days with immediate effect.
The Registrar said the university had received complaints of sexual harassment against Mr. Jena from some students of the Department of Social Work. There was a report in this regard from the head of the department, too.
“Based on the complaints and reports, a detailed inquiry into the matter has been initiated. Pending the inquiry, Jena was asked to proceed on leave on May 5, and this was communicated to him by e-mail on the same day,” the order read.
The assistant professor was also told that a first information report had been filed at the local police station. He was advised to cooperate with the police.
Mr. Nath said that Mr. Jena neither applied for leave nor reported to the police.
Non compliance
“Considering Jena’s non-compliance with instructions, the university, in exercise of powers conferred upon it by rules, acts, and statutes governing the university, has placed Jena under suspension for a period of 90 days with immediate effect,” the order read.
Mr. Jena was also asked not to leave the headquarters or enter the university campus without obtaining prior permission from the competent authority.
The university students have been organising demonstrations and hunger strikes on the campus, demanding the assistant professor’s dismissal from service and arrest. The protests intensified after three female students filed sexual harassment cases against him.
The students alleged that Mr. Jena threatened that he would not mark their papers appropriately and shared inappropriate WhatsApp messages with students. He is not the first Assam University teacher to have been suspended on sexual harassment charges.
