Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) general body on Monday approved the dismissal of a suspended professor at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital after an internal inquiry found him guilty of sexual misconduct following complaints by postgraduate students and women doctors.The allegations surfaced in 2024 through an anonymous social media post by a postgraduate student, prompting the civic body to initiate an internal probe. An inquiry report submitted by the Vishakha Committee concluded that the professor had misused his position and created an intimidating work environment.“The report states that he engaged in indecent, obscene, humiliating, and objectionable conduct, including making inappropriate comments about women’s physical appearance, compelling women to consume alcohol and dance at social gatherings, staring at women’s bodies in a manner that caused embarrassment, behaving inappropriately in the operation theatre, making obscene remarks about women’s body parts in the presence of others, and deliberately touching women without consent,” the PCMC proposal placed before the general body stated.The civic body stated that the professor’s conduct was of a grave nature and had tarnished the sanctity of the teacher-student relationship in the medical profession. He was issued a final show-cause notice on April 13 this year, and his explanation was found unsatisfactory and lacking merit, a PCMC official said.The suspended professor’s conduct constitutes a violation of Rule 3(1)(i), (ii), (iii) and Rule 22A of the Maharashtra Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1979, as well as the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. As a result, his dismissal was approved, a senior PCMC official said.In a separate case, the general body also approved a proposal seeking the dismissal of an assistant professor at YCM Hospital for a prolonged unauthorised absence of 1,353 days between 2021 and 2024. The internal inquiry revealed that he was working in a different hospital during this period. Further, the report also accused him of negligence in treatment while performing surgery on a cancer patient, risking her life in 2024.Joint city engineer Manoj Lonkar said the dismissal orders will be issued against both doctors soon after the copies of the approved proposal reach the administration department.
