A media report on April 7 claimed that a complaint of rape had been made by a former Russian student against a fifth staff member, alleging rape.
Putting an end to the media speculation that the Tami Nadu State Women’s Commission (SWC) has received a complaint alleging rape from a former Kalakshetra student from Russia, AS Kumari, the Commission’s chairperson has clarified that no such complaint has been received. Speaking to TNM, AS Kumari said, “No complaint has been mailed to me by a Russian student as the media reports claim. We have no record of such a mail.”
On Friday, April 7, the Tamil news paper Dinakaran reported that the SWC had received a complaint through e-mail from a former student of Kalakshetra alleging rape. The report also said that the student was a Russian national. Further, the complaint, according to Dinakaran, was allegedly against a fifth unnamed teacher and not against the four accused so far – Hari Padman, who was an assistant professor of dance, and repertory members Sanjit Lal, Sai Krishnan, and Sreenath.
The Chennai City Commissioner of Police Shankar Jiwal confirmed to TNM that the police have not received such a complaint either. “We have not received any complaint of this nature and it is a speculation in the media. Even if we do receive such an e-mail, we will first have to authenticate if the complainant was indeed a former student, and speak to them on record before we can initiate any criminal procedure. If the complainant is a foreign student, we will authenticate the complaint via video call.”
The SWC is currently acting on the complaint filed by one of the survivors against Hari Padman and other complaints submitted to AS Kumari during her visit to the Kalakshetra premises on March 31. Hari Padman, who was arrested on April 3, is currently in judicial remand.
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Source: The News Minute