Chennai: IIT Madras scholar harassed at tea shop outside institute; accused held

The woman scholar was allegedly harassed at a tea shop on January 14 in the Velachery-Taramani area.

A research scholar of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Tamil Nadu's Chennai was reportedly harassed outside the campus by a worker, the institute said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the accused was handed over to police.

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, in Chennai. (PTI)

The woman scholar was allegedly harassed at a tea shop on January 14 in the Velachery-Taramani area, news agency PTI quoted the IIT-Madras statement.

The premier engineering institute said on Wednesday that the woman was accompanied by male students, who along with the general public handed over the alleged harasser to the police.

"The male students accompanying the woman scholar, and public at the spot, caught hold of the culprit and called the police. The police apprehended the accused and informed the Institute. The accused works in a bakery outside campus and has no connection with IIT Madras," the statement cited in the PTI report said.

IIT Madras has installed CCTV cameras across the campus and has taken adequate measures to ensure the safety and security of all and students are also advised to take precautions while going outside, the institute added.

The institute said it has been extending all necessary support to the woman student.

IIT-K student death

In an unrelated incident from a different IIT, a third-year student of Electrical Engineering was found hanging inside his hostel room at IIT-Kharagpur on Monday morning.

The third-year student was found hanging inside the room by his parents who had come to meet him on Sunday. His parents and institute personnel had to forcibly open the door of the hostel room after he did not respond to repeated calls, the official said.

Over the incident, IIT-Kharagpur Acting Director Amit Patra held a meeting with a section of students, asking them to bring to the notice of the institute authorities if any hostel inmate showed symptoms of depression, an official said on Tuesday.

Patra met representatives of ‘Technology Students' Gymkhana’ on Monday, the IIT-Kharagpur official said.

The students were asked to report any unusual behaviour of their batchmates, symptoms of mental stress or if they were faced with any crisis situation, to higher authorities and take them to a counsellor if required, he said.