Discontentment is brewing among the IIT students over the alleged police inaction against a security officer of the institution, who harassed one of their female peers.
Two things are pricking them the most. First, only one person was involved in the case. Second, he is scot-free five days after an FIR was lodged against him. Their only hope is the IIT administration, which, they think, will pursue the case sincerely.
The IIT administration lodged an FIR against the assistant security officer on March 26, a couple of days after the harassment victim - pursuing PhD in the premier engineering institution - filed a formal complaint. Five days on, students are frustrated over the claim of the police that they are still "investigating the case".
"This is frustrating. Though the FIR was lodged five days ago, the police are not taking action against the security officer - the only accused in the case," a girl, pursuing PhD (not the complainant) in IIT-Patna, told The Telegraph on Tuesday.
Her male peers were equally upset. "This is ridiculous. In some cases, the police don't act claiming that they were looking for the culprit. In this case, the accused has been named. Still, the police are not taking action on the pretext of investigation. Who will buy this logic?" asked a BTech student.
The boy has faith in the IIT administration, though. "I firmly believe that the IIT administration would pursue this case with sincerity and take it to its logical conclusion," he added.
A source in IIT said the victim claimed in her complaint that the assistant security officer was trying to develop proximity with her. She claimed that he had chased her while she was on her way to her hostel at Patliputra Colony from the institution.
The girl pursuing PhD stated that the security officer had volunteered to help her in a project. "The girl claimed in her complaint that she was feeling threatened by the presence of the officer on the IIT premises after the incident," said the source.
The police, however, do not find the content of the complaint sufficient to reach to the conclusion that the security officer, hailing from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, had some ulterior motive. "The complaint does not say that any foul word was used against the girl by the security officer. It also does not say that he tried to touch the girl or made any indecent proposal. We are investigating the case and would take any action against the named accused only if we find something substantial against him," Patliputra police station house officer R.K. Dubey said.
The complaint talks about threat. But its nature has not been stated, Dubey added.
The FIR lodged against the security officer by the IIT administration on March 26 has been filed under Section 354A of the IPC. It deals with indecent behaviour of a person with a woman.
"Based on preliminary input provided to us, we filed the case under Section 354A. But the section can be changed if different things emerge during the course of investigation," Dubey said.
The IIT administration has started its internal procedure against the accused, who has proceeded on medical leave.
"A showcause notice has been slapped on the security officer and he has been asked to submit a detailed reply soon. We shall wait for a day or two. If the reply does not come, we shall send a reminder," IIT-Patna registrar Subhash Pandey told The Telegraph.
According to rules, the security officer, who is a permanent employee of the institution, may face disciplinary action in addition to the legal battle he would have to go through in the wake of the police complaint lodged against him.
"The disciplinary action also amounts to removing him from duty among others," said the source at IIT Patna. The work of security officers entails coordinating with the institution and hostels.
