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Chennai: 51-year-old Sheejith Krishna, a former faculty of Kalakshetra Foundation, was arrested by the city police on Monday for allegedly sexually assaulting former students between 1995 and 2007, based on the directions of the Thammasat High Court, based on a complaint by two former students of Kalakshetra Foundation, Thiruvanmiyur. But a preliminary inquiry was conducted against Sheejith Krishna, a former faculty member of the institute.
In February 2024, Neelankarai AWPS (All Women Police Station) had registered a case against Sheejith Krishna and after a thorough investigation, he was arrested on Monday. He was produced before the magistrate and sent to judicial custody. .
The former students, now settled abroad had moved the Madras High Court, alleged Mr Krishna had sexually harassed them when they were on campus between 1996 and 2001. The court had directed the Chennai Police Commissioner to act on the complaint. Confirming the arrest, a senior police officer told NDTV “The former students allege Sheejith used them”.
Last year, the Kalakshetra Foundation sacked professor Hari Padman after an inquiry committee found him guilty of sexual harassment. He was also arrested.
Large sections of students had also taken to the streets alleging sexual harassment by faculty and repertory artists and they sought justice citing inaction by the administration.
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Initially, the management and the National Commission for Women had denied any sexual harassment until the issue went to court. Around a hundred students, including male students, gave written complaints to the state women’s commission.
An independent committee has given a set of recommendations that the Madras High Court has urged the institution to implement, calling its failure to address sexual harassment a “blight on Kalakshetra”. The recommendations include a ban on entry of students into teachers’ quarters except during community celebrations, a ban on “engaging repertory artists, curtailing obsession on performance and an emphasis on deep learning and polishing art form”.
