On Thursday, November 2, thousands of students belonging to the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi gathered outside the University to stage a protest against an incident of molestation that happened on campus grounds late on Wednesday (November 1) night.
According to reports, the incident came to the fore after the victim alleged that she was molested on campus by three unidentified men, who forcibly kissed her, took off her clothes and then recorded a video of her. She also alleged that the miscreants had brutally beaten up her friend before sexually molesting her. They snatched her mobile phone and threatened to kill her if she spoke about her ordeal with anyone or approached the police. The alleged incident took place late Wednesday (November 1) night.
Concerned about the safety of IIT BHU students, as many as 2000 students have been sitting on a dharna outside the Rajputana Hostel seeking speedy action against the perpetrators. They are also demanding that the administration take concrete steps to ensure the safety of the female students within the campus.
BHU कैम्पस में छात्रा के साथ छेड़छाड़ के आरोपों के बीच IIT BHU के छात्र धरने पर बैठे, सुरक्षा व्यवस्था पर उठाये सवाल. pic.twitter.com/9oNfWBfrkr
— Utkarsh Singh (@UtkarshSingh_) November 2, 2023
In her complaint to the police, the student said, “I am a resident of a hostel at IIT-BHU. On November 2 around 1.30 am, I left my hostel for a walk. I met a male friend at the Gandhi Smriti hostel intersection. We were walking together and when we were 300-400 metres from Karman Baba temple, a motorcycle approached us from behind with three men.”
“They parked their motorcycle and separated my friend and me. They shut my mouth tightly and took me to a corner, kissed me forcibly; took off all my clothes and recorded photos and videos. When I shouted for help, they threatened to kill me. They let me go after 10-15 minutes. When I ran towards my hostel, I heard the sound of the motorcycle. I got scared and went inside the professor’s house. I stayed there for 20 minutes. After that, the professor escorted me to the main gate of his house. From there, Rahul Rathore of the Parliament Security Committee dropped me to the IIT BHU patrolling guard booth,” the victim wrote in her complaint.
The Lanka police, meanwhile, lodged a complaint against three unknown miscreants, who are said to be outsiders under, sections 354-B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act. the police are making all possible efforts to identify and nab the accused.
A senior police officer said, “Multiple teams are working on the case and we will arrest the accused soon.”
After this incident, many police officers including SO of Lanka police station are stationed at the protest site. Bhelupur ACP Praveen Singh said that talks are being held with students on this matter. Police will take further action based on their complaint.
IIT-BHU students criticise management, raise concerns over the lapse of security in the campus
Meanwhile, the students who have been sitting on a dharna have raised grave concerns about the safety of the campus, wondering how such an incident could occur 50 meters away from the Proctorial Board booth, where security personnel are stationed. Recalling a similar incident that took place inside the campus in 2017, the students alleged that the incident was far more heinous than the previous one. They criticised the administration’s apathy in handling such cases, saying that the CCTV cameras in the entire campus are spoilt for the longest time but the varsity has not even bothered to get that fixed.
Deepak Kumar Thakur, one of the students who has been sitting on the dharna, stated, “This incident is much more serious than what occurred in 2017. Whatever information we have received indicates that the student was physically assaulted, and exposed to extremely obscene behaviour. A video of the incident was recorded as well. The entire campus has been placed under a complete shutdown due to the widespread outrage among students over this incident. No work of any kind is being done in any labs, and no classes are being held in any department.
Meanwhile, OpIndia spoke to the Lanka police about the alleged incident, An officer, who did not wish to be named, confirmed that an FIR had been lodged by the victim and the police are investigating the matter. He stated that prima facie it appears that the accused were outsiders. The students are staging a peaceful protest and demanding to speak to the VC of the university, They want the security on the campus to be enhanced. They are raising concerns about how some random outsiders could enter the campus.
Media reports suggest that in the FIR, the student has also revealed the identity of the accused. However, when OpIndia confirmed this with the concerned officer, he categorically said that the FIR had been filed against three unknown miscreants.
It may be recalled that a similar chaos happened in 2017, when hundreds of BHU students, mostly girls, had protested demanding assurance from the administration about their safety inside the university premises and action against alleged molesters and the security guard who refused to help a student, who was molested.
