Assistant professor Hari Padman who was accused of sexual harassment at Kalakshetra Foundation’s Rukmini Devi College of Fine Arts has been arrested by the Chennai police on Monday. Padman was arrested from North Chennai, where he was hiding following complaints of sexual harassment by the students at the foundation.
Hari Padman has been booked under Sections 354A (sexual harassment), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 4 (the penalty for harassment of women) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. The arrest comes three days after the students called off their protest against the management. The students staged a sit-in protest inside the campus against the management’s inaction on their complaints. Subsequently, the protests were withdrawn after the State Women’s Commission chairman AS Kumari and Chief Minister MK Stalin gave assurance that the guilty will be punished.
Following the arrest, the investigation team is likely to record the statements of the complainants and also record witness statements from others involved in the case. Police sources that Padman was absconding. Sources also say that the foundation management asked him not to return to Chennai after completing his official tour to Hyderabad. He was on a tour for a dance programme in Hyderabad.
On March 31, after a complaint was filed by one of the students a First Information Report (FIR) was registered against Padman at the Adyar All Women Police Station in Chennai. The FIR was registered on the second day of the protests. Initially, representatives from the National Women’s Commission visited the foundation campus over complaints of sexual harassment. But, as the commission did not find anything incriminating, the complaint was not taken to the state police and no action was taken.
Then, when the students sat on a night-long protest inside the campus, the issue came to light and the state government stepped in. “I will record my statements based on the complaints I received,” says AS Kumari.
It may be recalled, that, Kalakshetra foundation is a fine arts institution funded by the union government. It is one of the prestigious institutions where art and dance form the major components. However, complaints of sexual harassment and the institution propagating toxic culture have come up in the recent past. Four professors namely, Hari Padman, Sanjith Lal, Sai Krishnan and Sreenath have been accused of sexually harassing the students. Most of the complaints have been against assistant professor Padman who has now been detained.
Police sources say that the other accused in the case will also be taken into custody soon if required. With this, the celebrity status and the prestige enjoyed by Kalakshetra when it comes to classical dance have taken a major hit.