Rohtak: MDU official, 2 sanitation supervisors booked for asking female workers to prove menstruation

Rohtak, Oct 31 (PTI) Three people connected with Maharishi Dayanand University here were booked for sexual harassment for allegedly asking female sanitation workers to prove they were having their period through pictures of their private parts, police on Friday said.

The accused were identified as sanitation supervisors Vitender and Vinod, and assistant registrar Shyam Sunder.

The varsity, in a statement, said it had suspended Vitender and Vinod, who had been hired through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited on contract, while an internal probe had been ordered into the incident.

The alleged incident took place on October 26, a few hours before Haryana Governor Ashim Kumar Ghosh was scheduled to visit the campus.

Three female sanitation workers, in a complaint to varsity authorities, alleged that the two supervisors first forced them to clean the complex despite being told they were "unwell" and then asked them to prove they were menstruating.

"We told them we could not work faster as we were unwell due to our periods, but they demanded we click photos of our private parts to prove it. When we refused, we were abused and threatened with dismissal," one of the sanitation workers, who claimed to be employed with MDU for 11 years, alleged.

The women alleged that the supervisors told them they were following assistant registrar Shyam Sunder's orders.

Sunder has denied giving any such instruction to the supervisors.

PGIMS Police Station SHO Rohsan Lal said an FIR was registered on Wednesday under charges of criminal intimidation, sexual harassment, intent to insult the modesty of a woman, and assault or use of criminal force on a woman.

The accused may also be booked under the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he said.

"The statement of one of the women sanitation workers was recorded on Friday," the SHO said.

In Rohtak, sanitation workers hit the streets in protest at several places.

Meanwhile, MDU said workplace insecurity will not be tolerated.

"The University has always reiterated its commitment to providing a safe, respectful, and culturally sensitive work environment," it said in its statement. PTI SUN VN VN