Punjab officer dismissed from service after sexual misconduct proved

LAHORE: A senior officer of the Punjab Government was dismissed from service after charges of sexual harassment were proved against him in front of Ombudsperson Punjab, ARY News reported on Thursday.

According to details, a female instructor at District Industrial Home for Women (Sanatzar) had lodged a complaint against the in-charge of the centre, accusing him of sexual misconduct.

The aggrieved lady alleged that the officer in question had been asking her for sexual favour and also had harassed her on numerous occasions through inappropriate physical contact.

The woman said that she was also threatened of dire consequences if she dared complain against him.

Upon receiving the complaint, the Ombudsperson Punjab Rukhsana Gillani called both the parties and heard their versions and accounts from witnesses.

The officer in question was later awarded the penalty of dismissal from service after the charges of sexual harassment and misconduct were proven against him.

Ms Gillani in her remarks said that silence was no solution to the menace of sexual harassment, rather, it only encouraged the harasser. “Same was also proved in the current case”, she said.

“Despite having a law against sexual harassment at workplace, women choose silence out of fear of losing their jobs in retaliation”, she regretted.