This Article is From Aug 31, 2014

3 Students of Bengal's Visva Bharati University Arrested for Allegedly Harassing Woman Student

3 Students of Bengal's Visva Bharati University Arrested for Allegedly Harassing Woman Student

The girl's father claimed that the university discouraged him from going to the police.

Shantiniketan: Three students from the iconic Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan in West Bengal have been arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a first-year student. The three had earlier been booked for alleged sexual assault.

The university had expelled the three students earlier today.

A first-year student had alleged that three senior students had forced her to strip, photographed her and then threatened to post the pictures on the internet if she did not pay them money. An outsider was also among those who had harassed her, she had said.

Harishchandra Mitra, the university's proctor, had on Saturday filed a First Information Report of sexual harassment against three students of Kala Bhavan, as well as an outsider.

Students of Kala Bhavan, the arts department of the university, held protests on Saturday morning to demand action against the offenders.


The young woman has alleged in her complaint to the university's sexual harassment committee that she was forced to pay the men Rs. 4,000.

The alleged incident took place on August 8. The woman complained only on August 26, a day after her father arrived. He said she was so traumatised that she had to be admitted to hospital for a day.

He alleged that the university has discouraged him from going to the police, a charge that the university has refuted.

University Vice-Chancellor Sushanta Datta Gupta told NDTV yesterday, "I got to know of the ghastly incident yesterday. The matter has immediately been referred to the sexual harassment committee".

He had denied that the university had discouraged the girl and her father from going to the police. "Depending on the sexual harassment committee's findings, legal action will be taken," he said.
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