Another Rape Case Rocks Kolkata: Student Raped inside Boy's Hostel on the Pretext of Counselling
Kolkata (The Uttam Hindu): A sensational case of rape of a girl student by her classmate has come to light inside the campus of the country's prestigious management institute, Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-C). The incident took place on Friday, when the accused called the victim to the campus on the pretext of helping her. After the victim's complaint, the police swung into action and registered a case and arrested the accused student. This incident has once again raised serious questions on the safety of girl students in the state's top educational institutions.
She was taken to a hostel on the pretext of counselling and raped
According to the police, both the victim and the accused, Parmanand Toppaunwar, are second-year students of the institute. The accused, who hails from Bengaluru, had first met the victim online. On Friday, Parmanand called the victim to the campus on the pretext of helping her in a counselling session. When the student reached there, she was even refused to register her name in the visitor's register.
It is alleged that Parmanand took her to his room in the boys' hostel on the pretext of some work, where he gave her pizza and a drink. The victim told the police that shortly after consuming the drink, she started feeling dizzy and helpless. When she resisted, the accused assaulted her and then allegedly raped her.
Complaint was lodged after regaining consciousness late in the evening
According to the victim, she remained in a semi-conscious state for some time and then fainted. When she regained consciousness in the evening, she found herself alone in the room. After this, she left the campus with the help of a friend and lodged a complaint first at Thakurpukur and then at Haridevpur police station.
Police registered a case under BNS sections
On the complaint of the victim, the police have registered a case under Sections 64 (rape) and 123 (causing hurt by poison or harmful substance) of the Indian Penal Code (BNS) and arrested the accused student. A senior police officer said, "This is a very serious incident. The victim is being medically examined. We are collecting concrete evidence against the accused by examining the hostel's entry records, CCTV footage and questioning the institute's staff."
Security SOP was issued only two weeks ago
This incident has happened at a time when just two weeks ago, the incident of gang rape of a law college student had shaken the entire state. After that incident, the state government had instructed to increase security by implementing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all educational institutions. This incident in a prestigious institute like IIM has raised serious questions on the implementation of these guidelines. There has been no official statement from the institute management at the moment, but there is great anger and concern among the students and parents about the incident.
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