Nearly two months after a female student of the Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) was allegedly disrobed and molested on campus, three men were arrested by the Varanasi Police in connection with the incident. “The accused are identified as Kunal Pandey, Anand alias Abhishek Chauhan, and Saksham Patel. Necessary action is being taken as per law,” said Shivakant Mishra, an officer of the Lanka police station in Varanasi.
Opposition parties said the accused are members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that the party has been protecting such anti-social elements. “These are the new group of BJP workers, roaming freely under patronage of senior BJP leaders, but amid pressure due to solid evidence and growing anger among the public, the BJP government has finally arrested these criminals,” wrote Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and former Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on X (formerly Twitter). The post included the picture of a local media report, which said Pandey is convenor of the BJP IT cell’s Varanasi Metropolitan unit, while Patel and Anand are the unit’s co-convenor and working committee member respectively.
The student in her complaint had alleged that on November 2, when she was walking with a friend near the Karman Baba Temple on campus around 1.30 a.m., three men arrived on a bike, and forcibly kissed and disrobed her. They also took photos and videos of the incident and fled when she shouted for help.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered under Section 354 (assault or use of criminal force with the intent to outrage a woman’s modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and provisions of the Information Technology (IT) Act, at Varanasi’s Lanka police station the same day.
The incident led to a massive uproar with students of IIT-BHU holding a protest near the Rajputana Hostel demanding immediate arrest of the accused and steps to strengthen security on the campus. Days later, the U.P. Police added Sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), 507 (criminal intimidation by anonymous communication), and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult modesty of a woman) of the IPC.
