Lecturer's suicide: MAO College principal removed from post

LAHORE: Principal of the Government MAO College Farhan Ibadat Yar was removed from his post after a probe committee formed by the Punjab Higher Education Department found him to be remiss in handling the sexual harassment case that led lecturer Muhammad Afzal to commit suicide, ARY News reported.

He was directed to report to the Punjab HED and Riaz Hashmi was given charge of the institution’s head.

A five-member committee formed by the Punjab HED found Farhan Ibadat Yar to be remiss in the handling of the case of sexual harassment allegations leveled against the lecturer.

Afzal, the lecturer in English at the MAO College, had committed suicide after consuming poisonous pills.

He ended his life for not getting a clearance certificate after the enquiry found him innocent and proved wrong sexual harassment allegations leveled against him by a female student. The college administration had conducted an enquiry into the incident, which had concluded that Afzal had not harassed anyone.

Afzal had also written a letter to the harassment committee’s enquiry officer, Dr Aalia Rehman seeking exoneration from the charges.

According to the letter Afzal reportedly wrote a day before committing suicide, he was under extreme mental stress due to the accusations hurled at him and wanted the committee to give him in writing that he was innocent and the allegations were baseless.

He said his reputation had been hurt with his family life disturbed and wife having left him.

Addressing the inquiry officer, he wrote: “You (Dr Aalia Rehman) had said that I am absolved of all sexual harassment accusations.

But, I am still under a lot of mental stress as the news [about alleged harassment] has spread all over the college. Unless the administration gives in writing that I am innocent and all the allegations are baseless, I will be known as an immoral person.”