New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday slammed the government over an IIT-BHU student being allegedly molested and stripped, and asked if it was no longer possible for a woman student in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said the student of IIT-BHU has been "sexually assaulted" in Varanasi. Police said that the student of IIT-BHU was allegedly molested and stripped by three motorcycle-borne men, who also recorded a video of the act, near her hostel. Banaras Hindu University (BHU) students on Thursday held a protest. They claimed that outside elements were involved in the incident and demanded that outsiders be banned from entering the campus.
"Some time back, in the university campus, the girl student was subjected to heart-wrenching violence. The brazen attackers have also made a video of the incident. IIT students are protesting against the incident," Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said. "Are BHU campuses and even top institutions like IITs not safe now? Is it no longer possible for a girl student in the Prime Minister's constituency to walk fearlessly inside her own educational institution?" she asked.
According to a complaint lodged by the woman, she was out with a friend on Wednesday night. They were near the Karman Baba temple when three men came there on a motorcycle and forcibly took her to a corner and gagged her after separating her from her friend. The accused then stripped the woman, made a video of her and clicked photos. They let her go after 15 minutes and took her phone number, the complaint stated.
On the basis of the woman's complaint, an FIR has been registered under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and under provisions of the IT Act at Lanka police station, police said.