President of ABVP, accused of harassing a woman, appointed AIIMS board member


Written by Janardhan Koushik | Chennai |

Updated: October 28, 2020 3:31:15 pm


Several political leaders took to Twitter on Wednesday to express their dissatisfaction with the appointment, with some asking if the appointment was an endorsement of indecent behavior.

ABVP National Chairman DR Subbiah Shanmugam was appointed to the board of the Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) project at Thoppur in Madurai, prompting angry responses from the opposition.

In July this year, a 62-year-old woman who lived alone in the same building as Subbiah accused him of harassment, which included urinating and throwing used surgical masks on her front door. The incident reportedly followed a disagreement over parking spaces in the housing society. The woman demanded payment for the use of a parking space on her property.

An FIR was not filed until after comedian Balaji Vijayaraghavan, who is the woman’s nephew, posted on social media that he claimed that the police were not helping his aunt. In her complaint, filed at the Adambakkam Police Station on July 11, the woman attached CCTV footage and photographs that allegedly show the ABVP leader urinating on the door of her home.

However, Subbiah denied the allegations and said that the images were doctored and that the author had ulterior motives. The ABVP leadership also denied all charges and threatened legal action against the woman’s family. The complaint was later withdrawn because the process would be “traumatic” for her, Vijayaraghavan said.

Several political leaders took to Twitter on Wednesday to express their dissatisfaction with the appointment, with some asking if the appointment was an endorsement of indecent behavior. Echoing the same thoughts, Congressman Jothimani said the appointment denigrates women and the medical profession. And the deputy of Congress, Manickam Tagore, asked the Union Minister of Health to remove Subbiah from the committee.

While VCK and MP D leader Ravikumar called it an insult to women, CPI (M) MP Venkatesan questioned whether it was a reward for their shameful act.

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