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Bengaluru News: An FIR was registered against IIM Bangalore Director Rishikesh T Krishnan, along with the Dean (Faculty) and six other faculty members, following allegations of caste-based discrimination by one of the faculty members. Bengaluru police on Friday registered the FIR after the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE) confirmed that Associate Professor Gopal Das faced the caste-based discrimination.

The FIR was lodged at the Mico Layout Police Station against senior faculty members Dinesh Kumar, Sainesh G, Srinivas Praka, Chetan Subramanian, Ashish Mishra, Srilatha Jonalagedu, and Rahul De. They all were charged under Sections 3(1)(r) (insults or intimidates SC/ST person) and 3(1)(s) (abuses SC/ST person by caste name) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 2014.

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The matter came into light after Professor Das complained to President Droupadi Murmu regarding the issue during her visit to the campus in January, earlier this year. The state government's DCRE started an inquiry into the matter in March following receiving directions from the President's office. Professor Das belongs to the Scheduled Caste community and has been teaching at IIM-B since 2018. He approached the principal secretary of the Karnataka Social Welfare Department several times after the probe began, alleging that the cases of harassment increased after a probe was ordered.

Arun Chakravarthy, ADGP of the DCRE, stated that Professor Das' caste was disclosed through a mass email by the director of IIM-B. The probe also concluded that Professor Das was humiliated, and he faced workplace discrimination by not getting the same opportunities in comparison to his peers. The report also stated that IIM-B violated rules by not establishing an institutional mechanism to address grievances of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe employees.

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“Evidence indicates that Dr. Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director of IIM-B, publicly disclosed Dr. Gopal Das’s caste through a mass email, leading to allegations of humiliation. Additionally, both Dr. Krishnan and Dr. Dinesh Kumar, Dean (Faculty), are accused of contributing to workplace discrimination by denying Dr. Das equal opportunities," Chakravarthy was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.