HP government has suspended the assistant professor in connection with the alleged sexual harassment and ragging of the 19-year-old Dalit girl. The death of a 19-year-old Dalit college student has rocked Himachal Pradesh, as the professor she accused of indecent acts and harassment in a purported video before her death has been suspended and booked.
The Himachal Pradesh government on Saturday suspended the assistant professor of the Government College, Dharamshala, in connection with the alleged sexual harassment and ragging of the 19-year-old girl, who died during treatment on December 26.
According to the order by the state’s education secretary, the decision was taken after an FIR was registered for sexual harassment against the accused, identified as an assistant professor of geography, Ashok Kumar, who would remain under suspension with immediate effect, pending the outcome of a departmental inquiry.
From ‘ajeeb harkatein’ to booking: What has happened in the 19-year-old student’s death in Himachal Pradesh
A 19-year-old student died during treatment on December 26 after allegedly being ragged by three senior students and sexually assaulted by a college professor in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala
The case drew attention after a video purportedly showing the student in a hospital surfaced on social media. The girl in the video accuses the professor of indecent acts, mental harassment and intimidation after she objected to his behaviour. HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of this video.
In the purported video, a woman was heard asking the name of the professor, to which she replied, “Ashok sir.” When asked what he would do to her, the student said, “Peechhe pad jaate the. Ajeeb harkatein karte the.” (He would keep bothering me, do strange things.) She was then asked to describe the kind of acts the professor would indulge in. She appeared hesitant, after which the woman questioning her asked whether she wanted her father to step out of the room. The student said she did not want her father to leave and replied, “Touch wagerah karte the. Bahut kuch bolte the.” (He would touch me, say a lot of things.)
In his complaint, the student’s father alleged that his daughter was beaten by three seniors on September 18, 2025, while the college professor indulged in obscene acts with her. Due to the beating and harassment, the student was hospitalised, he said. The father alleged that following these incidents, his daughter went into severe mental stress, leading to a rapid deterioration in her health, and she died during treatment on December 26, the complaint said.
A case was registered on Thursday under sections 75 (sexual harassment), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act 2009 has been registered, and investigations are underway, the police said.
However, speaking to mediapersons, the accused assistant professor, who has been granted anticipatory bail, termed the allegations against him as baseless. He said he will cooperate with the police investigation. The professor told news agency PTI that the student had studied under him in a previous academic session and was not his student in the current session.
The accused professor has been suspended pending an inquiry by a panel constituted by the Himachal Pradesh education secretary. The four-member committee headed by Additional Director (Higher Education) Harish Kumar, with principals of Dhaliara, Baijnath and Naura government colleges as its members, has been tasked to submit a comprehensive report in three days covering all aspects and angles of alleged harassment, sexual assault, ragging and caste-related comments by the teachers and the students of the colleges.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken serious cognisance of the case, with the UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline registering a suo motu complaint. According to the UGC, a police enquiry into the incident is currently underway. In parallel, the higher education regulator has already constituted a Fact-Finding Committee to examine all aspects of the case, including the circumstances leading to the student’s death and the allegations of ragging and sexual harassment.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the death of the case. In a post on X, NCW shared, “The National Commission for Women has taken suo motu cognisance of an extremely serious incident related to ragging, physical harassment, and sexual harassment at the Government Degree College in Dharamshala, in which a 19-year-old female student died during treatment. The Commission strongly condemns this heinous, inhuman, and reprehensible act, which is a gross violation of the student’s life, dignity, and rights, and highlights the serious failure of the security mechanism in educational campuses.”
