Protests at IIT-BHU after student allegedly molested, stripped on campus

A student of IIT-BHU was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men, who also recorded a video of the act, near her hostel, police said on Thursday.

Hundreds of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) students held a protest on Thursday. They claimed outside elements were involved in the incident and demanded that outsiders be banned from entering the campus.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed the government over the incident and asked if it was no longer possible for a woman student in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's parliamentary constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution.

According to a complaint lodged by the woman, she went out of her hostel with a friend on Wednesday night. They were near the Karman Baba temple when three men came there on a motorcycle, forcibly took her to a corner and gagged her after separating her from her friend.

The accused then stripped the woman, made a video of her and clicked photos. They let her go after 15 minutes and took her phone number, the complaint stated.

On the basis of the woman's complaint, an FIR has been registered under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under provisions of the IT Act at Lanka police station, police said.

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Efforts are being made to identify the accused, they said.

Students gathered near IIT-BHU's Rajputana Hostel and protested against the incident.

They held placards with messages like "We want justice", "Are we safe?" and "Why is the director silent?". They also raised slogans against the institute's director and demanded that he come and speak with them.

The protesting students alleged that incidents of molestation have become common and women students are not safe on the campus. They also raised questions about the security arrangements on the campus and claimed that security guards are not present at several places.

Police personnel have been deployed at the spot to ensure law and order.

After the incident, IIT-BHU Registrar Rajan Srivastava issued directions that all barricades around the campus premises should be put in place from 10 pm to 5 am to ensure a safe environment for all employees and students of the institute.

The security guard on night duty will only allow vehicles with BHU stickers and people with BHU identity cards to enter the premises, he said.

In a post on X, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked if top institutions like IITs are not safe now.

"A woman student of IIT, BHU has been sexually assaulted in Varanasi. Some time back, the woman student was subjected to heart-wrenching violence on the university campus. The brazen attackers have also made a video of the incident. IIT students are protesting against the incident," the Congress general secretary said in Hindi.

"Are BHU campuses and even top institutions like IITs not safe now? Is it no longer possible for a woman student in the prime minister's constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution," she asked.

Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chairperson Swati Maliwal termed the incident "shameful".

"This incident raises serious questions about the safety of thousands of women studying at the university. Such an incident taking place on the campus of a prestigious university like BHU is a failure of the entire administration," Maliwal said in a post on X.

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