A group of women marched on Friday to protest the sexual harassment that governor C.V. Ananda Bose has been accused of and alleged that he was using his position to “harass women”.

The protesting women, many of whom were college and university teachers, said they were shocked that the ex-officio chancellor of state-aided universities was resisting a police investigation into the complaints.

The protest rally started from Y-channel at Esplanade and terminated near the north gate of Raj Bhavan.

Film director Sudeshna Roy, a former chairperson of the state commission for the protection of child rights, said: “The governor is using his position to harass women. What he has done is a crime and, as women, we are protesting this.”

A contractual staff member at Raj Bhavan had lodged a police complaint on May 2 alleging that governor Bose had made “physical advances” towards her on more than one occasion.

The police said the 29-year-old woman alleged that the governor had made advances towards her on April 24 and again on May 2.

Earlier this week, the city police had submitted a report to the Bengal home secretary on allegations of sexual harassment made by another woman against the governor.

This allegation had emerged last year when the woman lodged a complaint with the chief minister's office and the police were directed to probe the allegation.

Referring to the spate of complaints, Roy said: “As women, we have to protest.”

The protest march was organised by the Trinamool Congress Teachers’ Cell.

Roy later told Metro: “It is not about any political party. I took part in the march as a woman. This is something that I feel we should strongly protest. It is unacceptable that people in a position of power will get away with anything just because they enjoy constitutional immunity."

The police have not been able to draw up formal charges against the governor because his position enjoys constitutional immunity under Article 361 of the Constitution.

Roy said: “This woman (contractual staff member at Raj Bhavan) has managed to talk about it. But the governor and his supporters are alleging that he is being framed. It is wrong to assume that someone is being framed whenever a woman raises an allegation."

Priyanka Guharoy, a teacher at Kaji Nazrul University in Asansol who attended the march, said: “Why is the governor shying away from a probe?”

When this newspaper sought the chancellor’s reaction to the march, his office said in a mailed response: “Your mail is received and is being examined.”