A first-year engineering student at South Asian University in Delhi’s Maidan Garhi area was allegedly gang raped by a group of four men inside the campus area on Sunday. As per the FIR, the victim’s clothes were stripped, and a pill was allegedly inserted into her mouth.
The incident unfolded between 8 pm and 10 pm when the victim was sitting near the Convocation Hall of the University, as told by the students on request of anonymity to FOEJ Media. The victim was allegedly being harassed and stalked by another male student, who reportedly threatened the former with morphed images of her. The victim was asked to come outside the university gate on a threat that if she fails to do so, then her morphed images will be circulated via the university’s mail chain.
Following this, the victim went on an amble for relaxation on the campus, as she was fraught after the threat. As per the reports, she was sitting near the stairs; a guard approached her and questioned why she was sitting there. After a while, she heard him having a phone conversation with someone; shortly after that, a ‘middle-aged’ man came near the girl. In a while, two more men came to the spot.
The victim tried to escape but was dragged and allegedly sexually harassed; soon after, the four men left when they learned of the presence of somebody. The girl was later found by her friend, and she took her to her friend’s room, and the hostel caretaker, Anupama Arora, was immediately informed, who allegedly asked the girl to “take a bath and sleep” and sent a message to the girl’s parents that their daughter had a “panic attack.” FoEJ Media accessed the message to confirm the legitimacy and also tried calling Anupama Arora, but the call was not answered.
The hostel warden has never been cooperative; in past incidents and grievances, she did not cooperate and blamed the students instead,” a student told FoEJ Media.
In light of the sexual assault incident, Anupama Arora, in an audio message accessed by FoEJ Media, completely denied the crime.
“Nothing like that has happened to her (the victim). You’re all misunderstanding the situation. She’s going through mental stress and experiences anxiety attacks,” she said.
“Someone must have called her, probably someone she knows well; that’s why she went there (the area where the girl was allegedly assaulted),” she added.
According to the FIR, accessed by the FoEJ Media, the campus doctor had checked the victim on the very same night, but the Police Control Room (PCR) was informed by another student from the university almost seventeen hours after the incident took place.
Condemning the act, S.P. Aggarwal, the Emeritus Professor of SAV, said, “Staff and students stand in solidarity in light of the alleged horrific act of sexual violence” and “condemn this alleged act of sexual violence.”
Meanwhile, the dean of the university, Navneet Jha, in a video accessed by the FoEJ Media, is seen surrounded by the agitated students, asking about the incident, where he says to a student, “How do you know it was a gang rape?”
