Bhubaneswar, Aug. 29: Police today arrested a 44-year-old private tutor on charges of obscenity.

The accused, Binod Kumar Sahoo, allegedly passed lewd comments and made obscene gestures at a student on the campus of Utkal University yesterday. He also exposed his private parts to the girl. The complainant, an MBA student of the varsity, called one of her friends to the spot immediately and together they managed to catch hold of the accused. They gave him a sound thrashing and handed him over to the cops.

The victim said the incident took place around 3.30pm, when she was going to meet one of her friends on the campus. "The accused was on a motorcycle and followed me. Later, he offered me a lift. When I refused, he became abusive and passed indecent remarks. Initially, I was afraid as the area was isolated but later I gathered courage and called up a friend," said the victim.

Sensing danger, Sahoo tried to flee the campus. But as the girl's friend reached the spot by then, they managed to nab him. Later, the victim and her friend beat him up.

The victim also alleged that the tutor threatened her by saying that he was the vice-chancellor's son. "He also said he was close to one of the senior administrative officers of the varsity," said the complainant.

Further investigation revealed that the accused was a native of Dhenkanal staying at Lakshmi Vihar. "Sahoo regularly passes through the campus on his bike. We have arrested him and are trying to ascertain the circumstances that led to the incident," said deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.

The incident once again exposed the security loopholes at the varsity, which has been witnessing frequent disturbances because of the easy access of outsiders to the campus. Though the varsity has deployed private security guards at various entry and exit gates, it is often alleged that outsiders enter the campus.

"We will shortly hold a discussion with the university authorities to ensure stringent measures to prevent the entry of outsiders," said Bhoi.