Chandigarh, Sept. 25 -- The management committee of DAV College, Sector 10, has dismissed botany assistant professor Uday Bhan Singh after allegations of sexual harassment by at least five female students, including a minor. As per officials, this is the first such dismissal of a teacher at any Chandigarh college. A letter issued by the general secretary-cum-member of the management committee - the governing body of the college - announced the teacher's sacking and ordered that all his benefits be forfeited. The college's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), constituted under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, had conducted a detailed probe into the students' complaint, filed on September 12, 2024. Submitting a report on December 21, 2024, the committee had found the allegations of sexual harassment meted upon the young female students duly proved. A Sole Hearing Committee, headed by justice Pritam Paul (retd) also reviewed the matter and accorded personal hearing to Singh. Submitting a report to the governing body on September 12, justice Paul upheld the ICC's findings. After examining this report on September 23, the governing body dismissed the assistant professor from service. The letter noted that complaints of the female students, including a minor, had been considered at length, including the fact that he had been indulging in such "derogatory" and "reprehensible" conduct for a long period, till July 2024. It was noticed by the governing body that even a few days prior to the receipt of the complaint in September 2024, he had been found guilty of sending offensive, suggestive, obscene and vulgar messages to girl students, despite being their teacher and mentor as NSS coordinator. The governing body also examined the screenshots of WhatsApp messages sent by him to the complainants after taking affidavits from students. While Singh remained unavailable for a comment, he has filed an appeal in a local court against the ICC probe. The matter was first heard on September 4 and the next hearing is scheduled on September 25 (Thursday). A UT higher education official confirmed that the department will not intervene in the matter, as such decisions fall under the college management's prerogative. The committee may also file a police complaint to register an FIR against Singh....