Protests at Hyd Univ after professor attempts to rape foreign student

HYDERABAD: Student protests rocked the Hyderabad University on Saturday after a professor tried to sexually assault a foreign student, police said.

The police have arrested Ravi Ranjan, a professor in the Department of Hindi, School of Humanities. He will be produced in the court later in the day, a police officer said.

The professor allegedly called the student to his residence near the campus on Friday evening on the pretext of teaching her Hindi and tried to sexually assault her after offering alcohol.

Deeply traumatised by the sexual assault, the victim narrated the incident to her classmates. As she was unable to communicate properly in English, she used an online app for translation.

The victim, who is from Thailand and recently joined the Masters course, was rushed to the health centre of the university by other students. After the check-up, she lodged a complaint with Gachibowli police station under Cyberabad Police Commissionerate.

The Director of Foreign Exchange Programme of the central university also lodged a complaint.

The police registered a case against the professor under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and took him into custody.

The police recorded the 23-year-old victim's statement with the help of a translator.

As the word spread about the sexual assault, students gathered outside the main gate of the campus and staged a protest, demanding stringent action against the professor. They demanded that the university authorities immediately suspend him.

The students also slammed the university authorities for the delay in lodging a police complaint against the accused. They alleged that neither the Vice-Chancellor nor the Registrar met the victim.

The students belonging to various groups said they will continue the protest till the university takes action against him.