Students at National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, stage a protest on the campus on the night of Thursday, August 29, 2024
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Protests erupted at National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, after a student alleged that a technician sexually harassed her inside the women’s hostel on the campus, located at Thuvakudi on the outskirts of Tiruchi, on Thursday (August 29, 2024).
Acting on a complaint from the survivor’s father, the Tiruverumbur All Women Police arrested the technician G. Kathiresan, 38, on Thursday. They registered a case against him under Sections 332(3) and 75(1) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, read with Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Woman Harassment Act.
The technician was employed by the institution on a contract basis to fix the WiFi system inside the hostel. The survivor, an engineering student, complained that he entered her hostel room to install the system and sexually harassed her.
The students staged a sit-in protest overnight expressing outrage over the incident as well as the response of the institution. They alleged that the technician was not accompanied by a female steward while entering the student’s hostel room.
“The warden and the steward should have been careful in allowing a male technician into a woman’s hostel room. Instead, they are blaming the student and shaming her for her dress sense. Even the Director (of the institute) wanted to talk to the victim (sic) but only in private,” alleged a student on the condition of anonymity.
The student further alleged that the warden had threatened to shorten their curfew timings in retaliation to the students’ protest.
The protests that continued on the morning of Friday (August 30, 2024) prompted the intervention of the Superintendent of Police, Tiruchi, V. Varun Kumar. The institution’s Director G. Agila later held talks with the protesting students, who also demanded that no action be taken against them for participating in the agitation.
The hostel warden also spoke to the students, expressing regret over the incident, following which the agitation was withdrawn. The institute also promised it would look into safety-related measures on the campus.
