Efthikar Ahamed (51), an assistant professor at the Central University of Kerala (CUK) in Periya of Kasaragode district, has been arrested for molesting a lady at an Amusement Park in Parassinikadavu, Kannur. Taliparamba Station House Officer, Inspector Benny Lalu informed that Ahamed has been remanded and sent to Kannur District Jail.

Ahamed has been an assistant professor in CUK’s Department of English & Comparative Literature since 2015. The English teacher is accused in the FIR of groping a 22-year-old lady from Malappuram woman on Monday afternoon at the amusement park’s wave pool.

Taliparamba police received a call from the park at 2:30 pm. “The woman and Ahamed were in the park with their families. They did not know each other. We went there, collected the woman’s statement, and arrested Efthikar Ahamed.” said Officer Lalu.

Ahamed shared pictures and videos from his trip to the theme park on Facebook at approximately 1:45 pm on Monday, with the message, “Family time, best time.”

Ahamed is a serial molester

Thirty-four first-year English students at the University have already accused him of sexual harassment for conducting obscene workshops masquerading as poetry lectures.

On 13 November, Ahmed was accused by the Bekal police of sexually assaulting a postgraduate student in her classroom, touching her shoulder and chest while she was lying on a desk as she was sick. On 28 November, the University placed him on suspension. Mrs Justice Sophy Thomas of the Kerala High Court granted Ahamed bail in January this year.

The University suspended Ahamed on 23 November, but police were not notified of several accusations. Subsequently, the parents of four students petitioned the District Collector, who then asked the University Registrar to explain. The institution didn’t report the incident to the Bekal Police until the Collector intervened.

While granting him bail, the HC specified that Ahamed should not enter the Hosdurg Taluk limits for two months or until the final report is filed, whichever is earlier. A copy of the complaint was also forwarded to the CUK Internal Complaints Committee (ICC).

Two other students reported the teacher to the University’s ICC, claiming Ahamed had touched them inappropriately. However, the ICC recommended that he be reinstated with conditions. The University suspended him for three months and revoked his suspension on 23 February.

On 23 February, after a three-month investigation, the University’s ICC reached an unclear verdict. The student’s written complaint and the victim’s statement during the hearing had slight variations, which the ICC used as cover and concluded that the two accounts “were not matching completely.” As a result, the ICC cannot comment on this specific event,” they concluded.

Ahamed continued his academic activities (lewd remarks and sexual advances). However, on 29 February, in the face of intense student protests, the Vice-Chancellor suspended him again and declared that Ahamed was the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Controversial Prof. Baiju K. C., Vice-Chancellor in charge, reversed the suspension once more and mandated that Ahamed cannot teach the first-year students who are the complainants. The decision made by the administration did not sit well with the pupils, though.

The survivor met the Union Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani when she came to Kanhangad for electioneering on 4 April. The minister could not intervene because of the model code of conduct, but she took the necessary action.

On 25 April, the University received a letter from the National Commission for Women instructing that Ahamed be kept away from the students. Accordingly, on 3 May, Prof. Baiju moved Ahamed from the Department of English to the Department of Education.

An internal investigation is underway against him at the University. According to the order, he would instruct English in the Department of Education’s integrated teacher education programme (ITEP) “as an alternative arrangement in the interest of a fair and unbiased ongoing departmental inquiry” against him.

Another student, offended by Ahamed’s Facebook post criticising her for discussing his alleged misdeeds with the media, had filed a complaint against him. The Bekal police have not filed a formal complaint report (FIR).

University faculty members say an interdepartmental transfer is unprecedented and almost certainly prohibited. Ahamed was appointed to the Department of English and cannot be moved to another department without permission from the Ministry of Education. Some educators said the transfer was merely a token effort to implement the National Women’s Commission’s advice.

Student organisations like NSUI (Congress) and SFI (Communist) have called for Ahamed to be dismissed from his position, claiming he is a “perpetual offender” and “addicted to sexual perversions.”

The accused faces charges under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with assault and the use of criminal force to violate a woman’s right to privacy, as well as Section 354 A (1) (i), which deals with sexual harassment through sexual contact advances.

Why the University and other authorities hastily tried to reinstate Ahamed and desperately wanted to save him remains unexplained.

Ahamed undertook professional assignments abroad as a News Correspondent for Abu Dhabi and Dubai-based entities. Even as students, faculty, and the media unanimously opposed Ahamed’s misdeeds, one media portal—the infamous Thejas News, the Popular Front of India (PFI) mouthpiece—has been whitewashing the accused professor’s crimes for years. They termed the accusations against Ahamed as fake complaints.