MUMBAI: Two seniors at a renowned engineering institute were recently told to step down from two studentled initiatives after a complaint of alleged harassment to the authorities. Though the institute thought the students could have “misconstrued or misunderstood the apparent unwarranted behaviour”, the authorities acted as the complaint came from more than one student on the campus.

One student will be graduating this year and the other is on the campus.

Students took to social media to vent their anger as the students concerned were let off without a serious punishment. A student (not a victim) posted on one of the institute’s social media pages that “one of the most respected seniors, also a teaching assistant and a mentor, harassed male students mostly from first year, who he thought would not raise their voice”.

The post said the senior texted the freshers five times a day and even told them to meet him. The post called the senior a molester and harasser.

It stated that one student decided to complain and the matter went to the institute’s disciplinary committee. “More than 15 were ready to testify against the senior. But the committee delayed action and then nothing happened against the student mentioned in the post. The student was active in many of the institute’s student-related activities, including festivals and other initiatives and had a very good academic track record.

Another student, still on the campus, was told to step down from another studentled initiative, after a male student complained about him being inappropriately touched.

The authorities refused to comment on both complaints but a source said that the case where the senior called freshers and allegedly molested them could be misconstrued or misunderstood.