Devansh Mehta: Thampu is Trying to Stop me From Going to Columbia

A defiant Devansh Mehta speaks about the latest criminal case filed against him and how Thampu still holds a grudge

Devansh Mehta and the Sexual Harassment Victim Were Kept Locked on College Premises

“It happened yesterday. I was accompanying the sexual harassment victim to the college office as she wanted to find out whether she’d received her stipend,” explained Devansh Mehta.

(The recently graduated Philosophy student of St. Stephen’s College spoke extensively to The Quint about the entire fracas – with Rev Thampu at its epicentre. While Devansh drew first blood with his case against the increasingly unpopular principal, the sexual harassment victim’s vociferous claims against Thampu has also brought the college into shocking disrepute.)

We were told that the order for her stipend hadn’t come in yet. Ironically, the only two signatures required for the stipend order are those of Valson Thampu and Satish Kumar (her PhD supervisor). She (the complainant) hasn’t received her stipend in 7 months – ever since she filed the complaint in December. Clearly, Satish Kumar is so arrogant that he’d do anything to stop her getting her money.

The duo went next to the chemistry lab – the site of all the disturbing misdemeanours that had been perpetrated on the victim. “I wanted to accompany her because I knew how difficult it would be for her,” Mehta elaborated. The complainant needed to pick up a few chemical compounds that she’d left in her drawer.

When we reached, however, a PhD scholar (also a student of Satish Kumar) demanded to know why we were there and even started filming a video of us! The door to the lab was locked in any case, so we decided to come back later. Finding it open in the afternoon, we began to look for what she needed – when all of a sudden, that same student locked the door on us! I immediately called 100 – after which, all hell broke loose.

Mehta went on to relate how the accused Satish Kumar soon reached the spot, accompanied by 10 other students who started accosting Mehta. “They called me a trespasser and physically manhandled me. I stuck to my guns, however – and luckily the police arrived soon.”

“False Complaints were Being Made Against us”

Two hours later a round of bizarre claims began to fly around the room.

A couple of the students who had manhandled me out of the lab suddenly began to tell the police that they had seen the sexual harassment victim pick up a delicate object worth Rs 5 lakh and twist it. You could tell it was a false complaint! The police were getting increasingly angry. The student could be seen visibly shaking, sweating, constantly licking his lips. Mr Samuel Shekhar (mess supervisor) then backtracked quickly and meekly said they’d file an internal complaint within the college instead about this – rather than a police one.

“Thampu was on the Phone from Kerala Instructing Ways to Harass me”

The most repulsive part of the entire incident? “Thampu was on the phone from Kerala, giving instructions,” a disgusted Mehta reported. “Constantly on the phone with both Shekhar and the SHO of Maurice Nagar, he kept demanding that a case of vandalism and trespassing be filed against me. Obviously, he jumped at the opportunity to harass me yet again.”

That the principal continues to hold a grudge – and a deep-seated, potentially dangerous one at that – is directly proportional to the fact that Mehta has to leave for Columbia in 10 days’ time.

“He will do anything to stop me now. If there’s a criminal case against me and the police initiate an investigation, I will not be able to go. It’s as simple as that. That’s why I want the message out there. I need more and more people to know what he’s doing – to me, to the college.”

Overwhelming Support from the ‘Old Boys’ Network’

But get him talking about the alumni and Devansh can’t stop praising the efforts of the college’s ex-students. He told this one, for example, that he’d been absolutely bowled over by the way the sturdy ‘old boys’ network’ had kicked in – defending both him and the sexual harassment victim.

It has been heartening also to see the glimmerings of revolt amongst a college fraternity that has been accused of being recalcitrant and often, apprehensive of speaking out against Thampu.

“Every teacher in the college this year boycotted the governing body elections. There isn’t a single elected teacher on that GB,” declared an enthused Mehta.

When I’d started the e-zine (the initial source of all Thampu-Mehta feuds) , I had thought it would be something that would survive me. I wanted to leave a legacy of sorts for other students to take forward. This (the Thampu fiasco) has marred everything.

One can only hope that legacies less tangible than these perhaps, but more solid ones – of resistance and intrepidness – emerge soon to unseat this new regime of autocracy.