A contract worker, identified as Kathiresan, was arrested on Friday for allegedly sexually harassing a student at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Trichy.
The incident occurred on Thursday in a women's hostel room, where Kathiresan had entered the student's room under the pretext of repairing the Wi-Fi connection, but instead indecently exposed himself, as reported by PTI.
The incident sparked a spontaneous overnight protest by students, who criticized the administration for its insensitive response to the survivor.
The students demanded immediate action against the accused and condemned the administration's handling of the incident, including what they described as "victim shaming."
The NIT Trichy administration released a statement addressing the issue of sexual misconduct at the Opal women's hostel.
“The administration of NITT has gone into the details of the unfortunate incident and have drawn out more stringent measures to ensure the safety of all students on campus, particularly, the safety of girl students. The Security Officer has been instructed to be more vigilant so as to prevent such eventualities,” the administration stated.
The administration stated that they had gone into the details of the incident and had drawn out more stringent measures to ensure the safety of all students on campus, particularly the safety of girl students.
The accused was assigned to fix Wi-Fi connections at the institute. According to the complaint filed by the female student, Kathiresan entered her room on the pretext of repairing the Wi-Fi and then indecently exposed himself. Following the complaint, he was arrested by police shortly after.
Tiruchirappalli Superintendent of Police Varun Kumar told PTI, “It has to be ascertained how a male worker was allowed inside the women’s hostel where one of the cameras was not working.” The investigation is ongoing to determine lapses in security protocols that allowed the incident to occur.
The student body voiced concerns over the lack of safety measures in place for female students on campus. The administration's statement emphasized their commitment to ensuring the safety of all students, particularly female students, and assured that more stringent measures would be implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.
