IIT-Guwahati suspends student arrested on molestation charges

Guwahati: Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) has suspended the student arrested on the charge of molesting a fellow woman student. The student has been suspended from 4 April as recommended by the institute’s Students Disciplinary Committee after prima facie it has been found that he had committed an act that has been considered a serious criminal offence by the judiciary leading to his arrest on 3 April, a statement issued by IIT Guwahati said on Monday. The four other students being investigated by the police for their alleged involvement in the incident have been isolated from each other on the institute’s campus and will be retained there for further police investigations as well as internal investigations, the statement said. Asserting that “the institute condemns such heinous acts in the strongest possible terms”, the statement said that “the institute has been cooperating with the police on the investigation on the sexual assault of the woman student on campus”. “These acts are a serious violation of the disciplinary rules of the institute, compromising the safety and security of students, hostel boarders and residents of the campus and disruptive to the institute’s environment. The institute is also putting in place enhanced safety and security measures to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future”, it said. IIT-G claimed that sections of the media have been “filing unverified” reports about the incident and about the institute discharging the girl student without following doctors advice from the Gauhati Medical College Hospital where she was admitted. It said “This is a very sensitive issue with implications on the future well-being of the girl student. Media is requested to report responsibly only verified news and is also requested not to sensationalise the issue”. The institute said that “all due procedures were followed as per hospital guidance for discharge of the girl student. The medical report is awaited and only after this the nature of assault can be confirmed”. A student of IIT-G was arrested on Saturday on the charge of molesting his college mate on 29 March. According to a police officer, the complainant, a resident of Gujarat, has claimed in her statement that the accused, a fellow student in the mechanical engineering department, molested her after spiking her drink at IIT-G hostel during Holi celebrations on 29 March. The woman said she fell unconscious after consuming the drink. Authorities at the institute, after finding out about the incident, had taken her to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, and the police were subsequently contacted, the officer said. Based on the statement given by the woman, the accused was arrested on Saturday and produced before the court of the CJM, Amingaon, which forwarded him to jail custody. A fact-finding committee, constituted by IIT-G to probe the matter, has also submitted its report, following which the premier institute, on its part, filed a police complaint, sources said. The woman is out of danger and recovering speedily, they added.