IIT-G student held for raping batchmate, four others questioned

Media reports said the student may have been drugged before the incident.

A student of the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) was arrested on Saturday for allegedly raping an undergraduate student on campus, police said.

Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati. (ANI file)

According to police, the woman was allegedly raped on March 28, the day Holi was celebrated in the state. She was first admitted to the IIT-G Hospital and later taken to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) for treatment.

“We have arrested one student and booked him for rape. Four other students are being questioned. Further investigation is on and more arrests could happen,” Kamrup superintendent of police Hitesh Chandra Roy said.

Media reports said the student may have been drugged before the incident.

Police added that woman’s statement was recorded on Saturday, six days after the incident. They added that the accused is a batchmate of the woman but refused to give more details about the students or the nature of the alleged assault.

Doctors at the GMCH said the woman was brought to the hospital on March 29 in an unconscious state.

“After regaining consciousness, she told doctors that she was sexually assaulted. We immediately followed protocol and carried out a medical test,” a senior GMCH doctor said on the condition of anonymity. The student’s medical report is awaited.

“She was taken from GMCH by the IIT-G authorities later in the day saying they will treat her at the institute’s hospital. Since this was against our advice, we immediately informed the local police about it,” he added.

In a statement, IIT-G said the institute acted promptly after the “unfortunate incident”.

“The student is now safe and recovering well,” said the statement, adding that the woman’s parents were informed about the incident. It stated that the woman and her parents refused to file an FIR and asked the college authorities to take up the matter.

“The fact-finding committee, constituted on March 29, has submitted its report to the institute on April 2 at 6pm and the institute has filed an FIR. The police have initiated their investigation and the institute is providing full cooperation,” the statement read. IIT officials did not reveal the details of the inquiry report.

The police, however, said the IIT-G authorities did not register an FIR.

“They just submitted their internal inquiry report. We had registered the case on March 29 and the student was arrested based on our investigation,” said Mukut Baishya, in-charge of Amingaon police outpost, adding that the college wasn’t cooperating with the probe.

HT tried reaching out to IIT-G officials but they weren’t immediately available for a response.