IIT-Guwahati student alleges sexual assault on campus by seniors

Guwahati: An undergraduate student at IIT-Guwahati has alleged sexual assault by unknown seniors of the institute after she was found unconscious outside her hostel late on Sunday evening. No arrests have been made in the case so far.

The institute has also constituted an internal ‘fact-finding’ committee to probe the incident, sources told EastMojo. 

The victim was allegedly taken to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) at about 1.30 am on March 29. According to doctors at the institute, the victim’s clothing was compromised and she was in a state of shock.

“Doctors suspected sexual abuse, and upon further testing, they found a drug in the victim’s body, which is usually used in cases of sexual abuse,” a source said.

“It’s a very serious matter,” a senior GMCH official said. 

According to this official, the police registered a case based on GMCH’s report after the victim came to the hospital. 

Hitesh Ch Roy, Superintendent of Police, Kamrup, confirmed to EastMojo that a case has been registered at the Amingaon police station, but refused to give more details.

According to sources, an informal meeting was called by “senior” students at IIT-G at about 7 pm on March 28. The said meeting allegedly turned abusive in no time. An alleged suspect in the case then lured the victim to a different location under the pretext of discussing “responsibilities”.

Also read: IIT-Guwahati victimising me, says student suspended for Facebook post

According to sources, the alleged suspect then offered the victim alcohol, which she refused. But the suspect then allegedly forced the drink down her throat.

“Beyond this, the victim has no recollection of what happened next. She could barely remember anything that might have happened to her from 9 pm to 10 pm as she passed out, probably due to the spiked drink,” the source said.  

The alleged accused and his friends were also questioned by the internal fact-finding committee of the institute investigating the case. 

“The accused and his friends tried to do some damage control by trying to give ORS to revive the girl, who was unconscious.”

The victim’s pulse rate was as low as 7 beats a minute by the time she was taken to GMCH at about 1:30 am.

IIT-Guwahati issued a statement on Saturday, saying: “An unfortunate incident involving a female student was brought to the notice of the institute on March 28, 2021. The institute acted promptly, and 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.”

The student was transported to GMC in the Institute ambulance accompanied by her friends, the institute said. “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.”

The student is now safe and is recovering well, IIT-G said.

“The student and her guardians were informed that they could file an FIR, which they have refused presently as they want institute to take up the case.”

The IIT-G statement added that a fact finding committee, which was constituted on March 29, submitted its report to the institute on April 2, based on which the institute has filed an FIR.

Earlier, two IIT-G students were arrested in February, 2017, for allegedly raping three students of Gauhati University by spiking their drinks during IIT-G’s annual festival, Alcheringa. 

Note: This story was updated on April 3 to include the statement issued by IIT-Guwahati.