JU Assistant Professor Jony sacked over sexual harassment charges

Mahmudur Rahman Jony, Assistant Professor of the Department of Public Health and Informatics at Jahangirnagar University (JU), has faced permanent suspension due to multiple charges of sexual harassment. Mr Jony, a former JU Chhatra League President, has also been accused of exerting influence over the recruitment of teachers.

At 10 pm on Monday, after the conclusion of the Syndicate meeting chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, University Registrar, and Syndicate Member Secretary Abu Hasan confirmed the decision.

He stated, "Mahmudur Rahman has been permanently terminated from his position following extensive deliberation on the investigation report presented by the 'structured committee' formed to address allegations of sexual harassment. Consequently, he is prohibited from employment at the university."

Earlier, on November 21, 2022, an intimate photo (selfie) of Anika Bushra Boitchi, a newly appointed lecturer and ex-student of Jony's department, was on posters in various places around the campus. He was accused of maintaining an intimate relationship with another student from batch 43 of the same department and pressuring the victim to undergo an abortion. 

Simultaneously, 27 intimate conversations with a female student who had applied for a faculty position in the department were revealed. During that period, accusations of influencing the teacher recruitment process and multiple instances of 'moral slippage' were levelled against Mahmudur Rahman Jony. The students and teachers started protesting after it was revealed.

The university authorities established a 'Fact-Checking Committee' following the teacher-student movement. However, a' clarification' was issued when the committee's report was presented to the syndicate due to its incomplete nature. 

Subsequently, in August 2023, a 'Structured Committee' was formed to conduct further investigation if the initial findings of the fact-checking committee were deemed credible. The university administration made this decision during a syndicate meeting on Tuesday, six months after the formation of the structured committee on August 11 of the previous year.

The Vice-Chancellor chaired the Committee, Professor Dr. Md. Nurul Alam, with the Registrar serving as the Member-Secretary. Collaborators included Prof. Nuhu Alam, Dean of the Faculty of Biology; Dr Mahfuza Mubarak, Chairperson of the Department of Public Health and Informatics; and Dr Md. Laek Sazzad Andallah is a syndicate member, and Prof. Ashraf-ul Alam is from the Statistics Department of Jagannath University.

Mahmudur Rahman Jony, who assumed the position of lecturer in the Public Health and Informatics Department in 2018, previously held the position of President of the JU Chhatra League in 2012.

In the meantime, protesting students celebrated this decision by distributing sweets, expressing their relief that Jahangirnagar University had taken a significant step by issuing an exemplary punishment to Mahmudur Rahman Jony. 

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