The gang rape of a 22-year-old student in Uttar Pradesh has shocked everyone. The incident occurred in early November but three accused have been arrested recently. The accused criminals remained absconding for 60 days. The arrests, which came two months after protests began at the institute, sparked a political controversy, with the opposition saying the accused were being protected because they were linked to the BJP.
The Uttar Pradesh Police on Sunday arrested 3 criminals. They charged them with gang rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a student inside the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) campus in November. The arrests, which came two months after protests began at the institute, sparked a political controversy, with the opposition saying the accused were being protected because they were linked to the BJP, an allegation the ruling party denied.
According to the FIR, on November 2, when a 22-year-old student came out of her hostel to meet her friend, three men allegedly molested her, removed her clothes, and sexually assaulted her. The complainant said that the three accused riding a motorcycle also recorded the attack. After this incident, students started protesting and demanded better security inside the campus.
Based on the woman’s complaint, an FIR was registered at the Lanka Police Station under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (assault or criminal force against a woman with intent to outrage her modesty). After this, the charge of gang rape was added to the FIR. “Three people have been arrested in the case. He has been identified as Kunal Pandey. Bhelupur assistant commissioner of police, Atul Anjan Tripathi, identified them as Anand alias Abhishek Chauhan and Saksham Patel. They are all in their 20s and are not students at IIT-BHU. According to reports, he belongs to the BJP.
Seizing the inclusion of the BJP’s name, leaders from various opposition parties leveraged the opportunity, flooding social media with numerous posts. The state president of the Congress remarked that ‘Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao’ is merely a slogan for the BJP.
