Woman student forcibly disrobed, molested on campus, protests break out at IIT-BHU

A case has been lodged at Lanka police station against unidentified men under IPC sections 354-B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 506 (criminal intimidation) and under the IT Act.

The student, in her police complaint, stated: “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… We were walking together when… a motorcycle with three men approached us from behind. They parked their motorcycle there and separated my friend and me. They shut my mouth tightly and took me to a corner, kissed me forcibly, took off 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. Then, I hid at the residence of a professor, who took me to the security officials.”

Varanasi Police Commissioner Mutha Ashok Jain told The Indian Express that the SHO of Lanka police station, Ashwani Pandey, was “attached to police lines” following the incident. “We have not made any arrests so far. Multiple police teams are working on the case,” he said.

UP Special Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar said, “The investigation is on… Police force has been deployed at the institute’s campus for maintaining law and order.”

In a statement, IIT BHU Students’ Parliament said that in light of the events, they were “launching an institute-wide protest”. “We are boycotting all academic activities and holding a sit-in protest at DG Corner and the Director’s Office from 10 am on November 2,” they said.

“This is a heinous crime that has shaken the very fibre of our institution. It is not the first time such an incident has occurred on campus. Students have repeatedly raised concerns about security on campus, but the administration has failed to take adequate action,” they said.

The student body demanded “night barricading to restrict entry of outsider vehicles inside the campus with a single point entry/exit, centralised CCTV system, and legal action on violent offenders”.

A varsity official told The Indian Express that at least 2,000 students participated in the protest.

On Thursday night, the BHU administration issued a statement to the students, saying, “This is to apprise you that the (Divisional) Commissioner, Varanasi has informed that he had discussed with the Ministry of Education about construction of a boundary wall for the Institute campus. A joint committee of CPWD and IIT BHU professors will be constituted and entrusted with the task of surveying the institute campus for construction of a boundary wall… The committee shall submit its report within a week’s time and thereafter the Commissioner Varanasi shall forward the same to the government for appropriate approval and funding… The Commissioner has also informed that CCTV cameras at sensitive locations, including girls hostels, will be installed at the earliest.”

Following the statement, a student, who was part of the protesters’ meeting with the institute’s officials on Thursday evening, said, “Our demands have received a positive response from the authorities. We have been assured arrests will soon be made in the case. We have put the protest on hold. They have sought a week’s time, and then will assess the progress and see.”

Earlier in the day, the IIT-BHU administration had issued a notice saying, “All barricades in the institute shall henceforth be closed from 10 pm to 5 am… The guard at post may allow vehicles having BHU stickers/IIT(BHU) ID cards.”

The BHU wing of the student outfits ABVP, NSUI and AISA issued statements condemning the incident.

Anurati, a Masters student at BHU’s Arts Faculty, who was part of the protest on Thursday, said, “Safety of women is a huge issue here. The same thing keeps happening again and again.” In a statement, Punit Mishra, campus secretary of ABVP’s BHU unit, said that the “weak security arrangements at the varsity campus are responsible for such incidents”.

An official at IIT-BHU explained why it is difficult to shut the campus to outsiders: “One is that the Sir Sundar Lal hospital is in the BHU (main) campus. People from across eastern UP visit this hospital for treatment. Then, there is the New Vishwanath Temple which falls within the campus. Tourists, especially from southern parts of India, visit. Then, there are several buildings of BHU which fall under the IIT campus, and vice-versa. For example, two departments of IIT-BHU – Mining and Metallurgy – fall in the main BHU campus, while BHU’s Agriculture Science Department is under the IIT-BHU campus.”

“But we have approved a plan to create a green corridor where IIT students move around. Barricading will be done here and ID cards will be checked,” said the official.

Opposition parties, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, condemned the incident and criticised the BJP government in the state.

“…The incident of a female student being disrobed, misbehaved with, and a video of it being made is a slap on the face of the law-and-order situation in UP. This exposes the lies of the BJP’s claim of a zero tolerance policy towards crime. The women of UP have lost all faith in the BJP government. Now, any expectation from this government is meaningless,” Samajwadi Party chief and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, Akhilesh Yadav, said in a post on X.

Congress general secretary and UP in-charge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, wrote on X: “…Are premier campuses like BHU and IIT not safe? Is it no longer possible for a female student in the Prime Minister’s constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution? Shameful.”