Man held for sexual misconduct with an NIT student in hostel
A massive protest was held on campus with hundreds of students gathering overnight on August 29 to protest over the institute’s alleged apathy over the crime.
A man was arrested for alleged sexual misconduct with a student from the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Tamil Nadu’s Trichy in the hostel, a police officer said on Friday.
The incident has led to a massive protest on campus with hundreds of students gathering overnight on August 29 to protest over the institute’s alleged apathy over the crime.
“The accused has been arrested and sent to judicial remand,” said superintendent of police Varun Kumar who met the protesting students on Friday morning. “When the student was alone, he sexually harassed her… The protesting students have raised some complaints against the institution.”
The accused has been identified as G Kathiresan. He has been booked under sections 332(3) and 75(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Women Harassment Act, he said.
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The incident allegedly took place on Thursday at around 11:30 pm. After the incident, the survivor at first informed the hostel warden who reportedly shamed her then she informed her father who filed a complaint with the police. Meanwhile, the NIT management campus informed the local inspector, police said.
A student requesting anonymity said that as soon as the victim had complained to the warden, she was shamed and they didn’t take any action.
“The warden criticised her clothes, blamed her for the incident,” the student said. “The institute should apologise and not shame the victim. They must support whoever is complaining.”
A senior police officer said: “The warden asked her about her clothes which upset the victim. Despite security and the warden being there, the students are questioning how the accused was able to enter the hostel.”
“The institute has agreed to look into these issues. There has been a lapse in the security agency. We have instructed the institute to take action against them too,” the officer said.
The warden has apologised to the students, the institute said in a statement. “The administration is distressed at the gross sexual misconduct of an outsourced worker in the Opal women’s hostel,” the institute said.
It further stated: “The matter, which brought the students out in protest, is viewed with utmost sensitivity and concern. Following the incident, the administration of NIT have drawn out more stringent measures to ensure the safety of all students on campus, particularly, the safety of its girl students.”
“The security officer has been instructed to be more vigilant so as to prevent such eventualities. The NIT administration emphasised that all measures will be put in place to prevent any recurrence of such incidents in the future,” the statement added.