Rima Kikani, Staff Writer

On January 6, the prosecution entered a Nolle prosequi, dropping all pending criminal charges against UMBC chemistry professor Ramachandra Hosmane. The Catonsville District Court had charged Hosmane with second degree assault and fourth degree sexual offense in relation to an on-campus incident that occurred in September 2009.

Entering a Nolle Prosequi implies a state attorney’s decision to discontinue prosecution. A prosecutor may apply on the request of the accuser, no legitimacy of complaint, or even lack of evidence, but the defendant can be re-indicted within a specified statute of limitations.

The alleged victim, a Ph.D. candidate, had accused Hosmane of sexual harassment. She filed a peace order petition in September, but later requested dismissal. UMBC Police Officer Paul Torain filed a complaint, and the Maryland court formally charged Hosmane with criminal conduct in mid-September.

The 65-year-old professor denied all allegations prior to the trial, claiming he had been “falsely and maliciously accused of the crimes.” He told The Retriever Weekly he was confident the charges would be dismissed.

Hosmane was scheduled to teach chemistry this spring as of last semester. However, he retired from UMBC this January.

Sophomore premedical student Sonal Paul followed this case over the semester and said she is very surprised. “These kinds of cases are very complicated because other students and faculty members don’t really know the true story…it’s hard to determine who was at fault,” Paul told The Retriever Weekly.