Former student held for trespassing into IIT-M’s ladies’ hostel

CHENNAI: Roshan Lal (26), a former student of IIT-M, was arrested after for trespassing into the ladies’ hostel on campus wearing a burqa, allegedly for the third time.

The last time he was apprehended, his family and counsel pleaded before court that he was mentally ill and required treatment and took him to his native town in Uttar Pradesh.

Lal had graduated early this year in electrical engineering, police sources said. “Lal’s a case of unrequited love. He trespassed into the hostel more than once to propose to another student,” said a senior cop.

On Monday night, the chief security officer secured Lal and handed him over to the Kotturpuram police. Students had alerted the female guards in the hostel after they spotted an intruder in the corridors who was knocking on the doors of a room.

Investigations revealed that complaints were filed against Lal twice – February and August for the same offense. When caught for the first time, he had threatened to jump off the hostel building and fled the scene.

When he was arrested last month, his counsel produced medical records claiming that he was being treated for mental illness and got permission from court to take him to UP for treatment. On Tuesday, he was arrested and remanded to judicial custody.