PALAKKAD: A woman student was injured after being allegedly attacked by an unidentified miscreant inside the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad on Monday evening.
The incident reportedly took place around 7.45 pm when the student, who is said to be from Salem in Tamil Nadu, was walking from her hostel to Kedaram, the students’ mess facility on the campus.
According to students and faculty members, she was alone at the time of the attack and suffered injuries to her forehead.
She was first taken to a nearby private hospital for treatment and was later shifted to a hospital in Coimbatore for further medical care. IIT authorities said that she is now out of danger.
The incident sparked strong protests on the campus.
Around 200 students gathered at Nila Gate, the institute’s main entrance, in the early hours of Tuesday. The protest began around midnight, with students raising slogans demanding justice and alleging repeated security lapses inside the campus.
Protesters claimed that this was the third such incident involving security failures and accused the administration of not taking the matter seriously.
Faculty members confirmed that the student had been injured in the attack and said she was unable to identify the person who assaulted her.
"It remains unclear whether the assailant was an outsider who gained unauthorised entry or someone within the campus community. Police from the Palakkad Kasaba Police Station immediately reached the campus and conducted a preliminary inquiry," said a senior faculty.
However, students alleged that the police arrived only around 11.30 pm, several hours after the attack, and claimed that a FIR had not been registered at the time they began their protest.
"The incident has raised serious concerns about surveillance systems, perimeter security and emergency response protocols at one of the country’s premier technical institutions. IIT campuses are expected to maintain stringent security standards," students added.
Authorities said they would issue an official statement addressing the allegations at the earliest.