ahmedabad the education department now in the dock for the patan gangrape ranks number one in cases of sexual harassment at workplace that is understandable given the number of women who work in this departmentbut all these years when anandiben patel was the education minister the department managed to depute male officers to probe these complaints this has often placed the department at loggerheads with the statelevel committee for prevention of sexual harassment at workeducation department is the worst in responding to complaints it deputes male officers to do a perfunctionary inquiry and dispose of the case citing lack of evidence when we protest they tell us they dont have enough lady officers said a senior official of the committeeall departments and offices are supposed to have their own committee for prevention of sexual harassment of women at workplace where a victim can complain and demand justice if an employee is not satisfied at this level the complainant can move the statelevel committeefigures provided to toi by the department of women and child development which is under anandiben patel indicate that of the complaints that have come to the statelevel committee during the past two years about a third are from the education department with 18 appeals for justice education department ranks number one in the list this figure is only an indicator of the malaise that has set in most victims prefer to suffer silently or swim with the tide rather than report sexual harassment at work the official said also those cases which have been disposed of need to be closely scrutinised as to how many were actually punished and what punishment was meted out