Three men were arrested in connection with the alleged incident of disrobing and sexually assaulting a female student inside the IIT-BHU campus in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi nearly two months ago.
The accused are Kunal Pandey, Anand Chauhan and Saksham Patel. All of them are in their 20s and residents of Varanasi.
The incident took place on November 1 when the victim alleged that three unidentified men, who came on a motorcycle, inside the IIT-BHU campus, forcibly kissed her and recorded a video of her taking her clothes off. A day later, hundreds of students protested at the institute director’s office who demanded better security on campus.
The student, in her police complaint on November 2, 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,” she had said, as quoted by IE.
The initial First Information Report (FIR) was lodged against unidentified men 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 (IPC) and under the IT Act, later police also added charges of gangrape after the complainant gave a fresh statement.
Days after the incident, another female student of the varsity claimed that he was molested by a driver of the university bus, IE had reported, citing sources.