CHENNAI: The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has initiated a probe after a female student sent a complaint to the Dean of Students alleging an attempt to sexually assault a fellow student, her friend, on July 24 night on the institute campus in Adyar.
According to the email complaint dated July 26, accessed by TNIE, the victim was attacked by a suspected construction worker when she was on her way back to the institute hostel on a dirt road connecting the new academic complex (NAC) and hospital road inside the campus.
The girl fell off the cycle and injured herself badly. “The man grabbed her and tried to sexually harass her. She screamed for help several times, and despite there being multiple security guards near NAC, the hospital and Gajendra circle, no one came to her rescue.
After a long struggle, she managed to fight him off and ran back on foot, scarred and injured, with a broken cycle. It was sheer luck that my friend managed to escape this vile encounter, which could have ended much worse. She returned to the hostel alone, shaking and bleeding. It was horrifying to hear of this incident, and the rest of us students feel uncertain of our safety on the premises,” the complaint said.
Students have demanded that the institute take immediate steps to ensure such incidents don’t reoccur. They requested the IIT-M to not provide unchecked and unsupervised access to hired labourers to student zones, including hostel and academic areas, at night. They have also appealed to the institute to immediately identify and initiate action on the assaulter. “Letting such issues go unchecked will only embolden criminals,” they said.
When contacted, IIT-M authorities said, “The incident was reported to the institute after about two days and the institute immediately started an investigation, screened CCTV footage and shared pictures of almost 300 people who matched the description given by the student. However, she is yet to positively identify anyone. Identification parade of over 35 contract labourers who were on duty that night was also conducted but the student was not able to identify the perpetrator.”
“Our gates are adequately secured and there’s a security guard posted every 100 metres. The institute also has a buddy system in place and a facility to call for an institute bus along with a security staffer at odd hours. The student is not interested in filing a police complaint. The investigation is ongoing,” the institute said.