BENGALURU, 20 DEC

Bengaluru police have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Rishikesh T Krishnan, Director of IIM Bangalore, along with Dean Dinesh Kumar and six other faculty members, following allegations of caste-based discrimination. The case, registered at Mico Layout Police Station, comes after an inquiry by the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) substantiated claims made by Associate Professor Gopal Das, a Dalit academic at the institution.

The FIR cites faculty members Dinesh Kumar, G Sainesh, Srinivas Praka, Chetan Subramanian, Ashish Mishra, Srilatha Jonalagedu, and Rahul De, who face charges under Sections 3(1)(r) and 3(1)(s) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, relating to caste-based insults and abuse.

The controversy erupted in January 2024 when Das wrote to President Droupadi Murmu, alleging incidents of humiliation and exclusion related to his caste. The DCRE's investigation, initiated in March at the President's behest, found substantial evidence of discrimination, including claims that Krishnan had disclosed Das's caste in an internal email and denied him professional opportunities.

The inquiry also highlighted IIM Bangalore's failure to implement grievance mechanisms for SC/ST employees, creating a hostile work environment. After Das reported intensified harassment during the DCRE investigation to the Karnataka Social Welfare Department, the Government of Karnataka instructed the Bengaluru Commissioner to act under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, leading to the filing of the FIR on 20 December. -SALAR NEWS