Two Sanskrit varsity asst profs arrested for sexual assault
Two assistant professors from National Sanskrit University were arrested for sexually assaulting a 22-year-old student in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
Two assistant professors of the National Sanskrit University were arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a 22-year-old woman student belonging to Odisha, police in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati said on Wednesday.
Tirupati (East) deputy superintendent of police M Bhaktavatsalam told reporters that the assistant professors, Laxman Kumar and A Shekhar Reddy, from the department of education were arrested on Tuesday evening, following a written statement from the victim.
A team of police officers visited Odisha on Monday to record the victim’s statement.
According to Bhaktavatsalam, the woman joined the B.Ed course in June this year. Dr Laxman Kumar, assistant professor in the department of education, allegedly exploited his official position to lure the student and later sexually assaulted her inside his office chamber.
The investigation further revealed that Shekhar Reddy, another assistant professor in same department, secretly photographed and recorded videos of the incident through the window of Laxman Kumar’s office.
Police said Shekhar Reddy subsequently used the photographs and videos to intimidate the student, subjecting her to physical and mental harassment by threatening to circulate the material on social media.
Following the student’s complaint, the university authorities constituted an internal inquiry committee and suspended Dr Laxman Kumar pending investigation. Subsequently, acting on a formal complaint submitted by the university’s in-charge registrar, Rajanikant Shukla, the Tirupati (West) police registered a case under Section 75 (1) (sexual harassment), 77 (voyeurism and capturing the images of a woman without her consent) and 79 (acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) read with 3(5) of BNS.
Under the supervision of the DSP, special teams were formed to investigate the matter. A team led police officials travelled to the survivor’s native place to record her statement. “Further investigation is underway,” the DSP said.
