IIT-BHU Case: Security Tightened For Outsiders Following Student Molestation; SHO Removed

Security has been enhanced for outsiders amid the student molestation incident at IIT-BHU.

Varanasi: Security at IIT-BHU has been heightened and a police officer has been transferred to police lines due to alleged negligence of duty, following an incident where a student was reportedly molested and disrobed near her hostel, leading to a protest by numerous students. Security personnel stationed at the entrances of IIT-BHU were observed conducting thorough inspections of individuals entering the campus on Friday. As of Friday afternoon, no arrests have been made in connection with the case, as reported by PTI.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Bhelupur, Praveen Kumar Singh confirmed that Station House Officer (SHO) of Lanka police station Ashwini Pandey has been sent to the lines for dereliction of duty.

"A meeting was held with the Banaras Hindu University officials and it was decided to deploy constables at certain places across the campus to stop entry of the outsiders and prevent recurrence of any untoward incident. Besides in the four main gates of the university, constables will also be deployed at some other spots across the campus,” Singh quoted as saying by PTI.

As of now the security arrangements of the campus were being taken care of by the guards deployed by the university administration, the ACP quoted as saying. However, additional police forces have been deployed at several places inside the university.

The police have established multiple teams with the purpose of identifying and apprehending the individuals allegedly involved in the molestation of the university student. These teams are actively reviewing CCTV footage from cameras within the campus and its vicinity, and they are utilizing mobile surveillance techniques to trace the assailants.

Simultaneously, the students who had assembled near IIT-BHU's Rajputana Hostel and staged a protest against the incident decided to conclude their protest late Thursday night.

On Thursday, a considerable number of BHU students participated in a demonstration, asserting that individuals from outside the institution were implicated in the incident. They called for a ban on outsiders entering the campus.

A student, who participated in the protest on conditions of anonymity said, "We called off the protest after a meeting with the director of the institute and senior police officials who assured us of our security and swift action against those involved in the incident." University officials said that classes resumed as normal in the campus and were being attended by the students.

The alleged incident of molestation took place on Wednesday night. According to the complaint filed by the woman, she ventured out of her hostel in the company of a friend when three men on a motorcycle forcibly took her to a secluded area, separating her from her friend near the Karman Baba Temple.

The accused individuals proceeded to disrobe the woman, recorded a video of her, and captured photographs. After approximately 15 minutes, they released her but not before obtaining her phone number, as mentioned in the complaint.

Based on the woman's statement, an FIR has been registered under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which pertains to assault or criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, in addition to relevant provisions of the IT Act, at the Lanka police station.

Following the incident, IIT-BHU Registrar Rajan Srivastava issued directives to secure the campus premises, implementing barricades from 10 pm to 5 am to ensure the safety of all institute employees and students.

Furthermore, the night duty security personnel will exclusively permit vehicles with BHU stickers and individuals possessing BHU identity cards to access the premises.

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