The independent inquiry committee to look into the sexual harassment complaints at Kalakshetra is headed by a retired judge Justice K Kannan, former Tamil Nadu DGP Letika Saran, and Dr Shobha Varthaman.
Hundreds of students, men and women, have complained that the faculty at Kalakshetra, known as the IIT of fine arts, has been sexually harassing them. Some have said the abuse has been rampant since 2008 and the administration did little about it. So far, one teacher has been arrested
The embattled head of Kalakshetra Foundation Revathi Ramachandran made students write an apology letter for complaining about the food poisoning incident in November 2021, and shut the college down for the UG students immediately after.
Women’s Commission chairperson AS Kumari said she asked Revathi about the functioning of the institute’s internal committee, its members, and the efforts taken to make students aware of its existence and functioning.