Protest rock EFLU as student alleges sexual assault on campus

EFLU student allegedly sexually assaulted Wed. night after protest demanding reconstitution of SPARSH Committee. Two unidentified men accused her of leading protest, attacked her when she resisted. Poor lighting, no CCTV surveillance. 200 students protested Wed. morning, demanding VC, Proctoral Board, security guard head, and warden/health care staff resign/apologise. Police booked case, investigation launched.

A student of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) was allegedly sexually assaulted late Wednesday night. This was hours after the students’ ended their protest demanding the reconstitution of the Sensitisation, Prevention and Redressal of Sexual Harassment (SPARSH) Committee at the University.

Police said that the victim was allegedly ambushed and sexually assaulted by two, who are yet to be identified. “We have taken down a statement from the woman at the Bharosa counselling centre and booked cases accordingly. Efforts are on to identify the perpetrators,” said P. Anjaneyulu, Inspector of Police at Osmania University Police Station. 

The woman had taken part in the protest along with around 300 others, which ended around Wednesday evening. “At around 10 p.m., she was ambushed by two men wearing hoodies who accused her of being at the head of the protest. They then tried to sexually assault her and attacked her when she resisted their advances,” said the police.

Requesting anonymity, the students of EFLU pointed out that the place where the assault took place has poor lighting and has no CCTV surveillance. “Even after informing the management about the incident around midnight, no immediate action was taken. The girl was found unconscious by two students, who took her to a medical facility inside the campus for treatment. The staffers there asked her to ‘keep the matter to herself’ while the management tried to play down the issue and refused to act,” said the students. 

A protest was held by around 200 students at around 5 a.m. on Wednesday inside the campus, demanding the resignation of Vice-Chancellor E. Suresh Kumar and Proctor T. Samson. “The Proctor deemed the incident as a ‘small issue’ when we confronted him on Thursday morning. Our demands are that the VC and the whole Proctoral Board should quit, the head of security guards must be held responsible for lapse in security. We also want the Registrar to apologise for repeatedly asking the name of the woman in public, along with an apology from the warden and health care staff of campus for shaming her,” said the students. The protests resumed at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

The EFLU management was unavailable for comment. The Osmania University police said that a case was booked for sexual assault and that an investigation has been launched to identify accused.