In another shocking incident, a student at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati was allegedly “sexually assaulted” by a peer, the police said on Saturday. As per the statement:
“The student was rushed to the Institute hospital where she was examined and was advised to go to Guwahati Medical College (GMC) for necessary medical examination. She was transported to GMC in the Institute ambulance accompanied by her friends. Later the Hostel Warden also joined them at the hospital and has been constantly in touch with the hospital authorities as well as the family of the student.”
As per the authorities at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, the student was brought to the emergency section at around 12.50 am on March 29.
Though the police refused to divulge any information on alleged sexual assault, a senior doctor told The Indian Express shared that it seemed to be a “serious case of sexual assault”.
Sharing the details, the doctor mentioned:
“The patient’s pulse and blood pressure were very low…The attendant who checked her found that she had a history of sexual assault.”
But, what is even more shocking is the fact that the IIT authorities shifted the victim to the college’s in-house facility the same day. This was done allegedly against all medical advice.
“We got all examinations as per protocol (forensics, gynecological) done, but around 4.30 am the patient was moved out by the IIT-G authorities against our medical advice. They said that she would be treated at the IIT hospital. Since this was against medical advice and we thought it was suspicious, we informed the police.”
Recently, IIT-G released a statement that makes no mention of the student being taken back to the college hospital.
“An unfortunate incident involving a female student was brought to the notice of the institute on 28th March 2021” said the statement, adding that a fact-finding committee was formed following that submitted its report on April 2 at 6 pm.
It further added that the parents of the student were informed about the incident and the institute is “continuously in touch” with them. It added that the institute had filed the FIR. As per the recent details, one person has been arrested in connection with the incident which reportedly happened on campus.
“We cannot reveal more or the exact nature of the assault at this point as the case is under investigation,” said Kamrup SP Hitesh Roy, confirming that one arrest had been made. He refused to reveal the section under which the arrest was made, again citing the “ongoing investigation”. The police also did not reveal the age of the accused.
It is heart-breaking how an educated man from a prestigious college didn’t hesitate to sexually assault his peer. We hope justice would be soon served to the victim. As women are shattering the glass ceilings to enter into male-dominated areas, it is heart-breaking how these women are made victims of abuse.