Chandigarh''s first #MeToo against school’s founder director

Naina Mishra
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 12

The wave of #MeToo has now reached the city, this time with a man joining the campaign. In a recent revelation, Sanjay Austa, an alumnus of St Stephen’s School, Sector 45, has accused its founder director Harold Carver of being a “sexual predator whose choice was children” in his personal blog.

Austa stated in the blog that when Carver was accused of child abuse, he, along with other hostel mates, branded the victims liars and gave a written a statement to the police that Carver was innocent as they did not trust their mates.

Austa asserted in the blog that Carver was released and promptly reinstated with honours.

Austa alleged that Carver made a pass at him too, just like he did with his hostel mates. He alleged that Carver took him to a room and posed lewd questions to him. “‘Do you touch yourself?’ asked Carver one day,” wrote Austa, adding that he nodded.

Austa claimed in the blog that Carver tried to browbeat him into the idea that making physical relations with Carver would change his life.

Austa wrote: “Carver urged me to envision making out with a friend and asked what I would do. ‘I will punch him,’ I said. ‘What if I tried to kiss you,’ he asked next. ‘I’ll do the same,’ I blurted. ‘After 10 years, you will realise this opportunity I am giving you,’ Carver told me.”

Speaking to Chandigarh Tribune, Austa said, “I regret not having been able to stick to my complaint against Carver when I was in Class X when he tried to make a pass at me. And I am sure that my hostel mates were also not lying when the charges were levelled against Carver. My concern is that why is he still associated with the school when he was charged with sexually abusing children. The trauma we had to go through during that time can never vanish.”

Austa added, “It is the #MeToo campaign that triggered me to speak up now. Twenty years ago, the media was not robust, but today it is. The campaign is not only about women but also about children who are sexually abused at a tender age.”

Asked if he would like to proceed against Carver, Austa said, “The allegations levelled against him by hostel mates were not false and they were browbeaten into dropping the case against him. The act of suggesting sexual intercourse is criminal. The onus is on the school board. They can talk to me because at some point Carver had tried to sexually abuse me but did not succeed."

‘I won all cases’

I won all my cases. I haven’t seen the allegations and do not wish to comment on these. The accuser is making a statement. — Harold Carver, founder director