Vizag: Polytechnic student ends life over sexual harassment; principal, warden among 5 held

Visakhapatnam: Police have arrested five persons including the principal and warden after a polytechnic student ended her life over sexual harassment In Visakhapatnam.

Those arrested include Nunela Shankar Rao (Chemistry Lab Technician), Shankar Varma (management of the college), G Bhanu Praveen (principal of the college), V Usha Rani (hostel warden) and V Pradeep Kumar (husband of hostel warden).

DCP (North Zone) VN Manikanta said that a 16-year-old student was found dead at a private engineering college campus at Kommadi under PM Palem police station limits in Visakhapatnam on March 29.

The girl took the extreme step after sending a series of WhatsApp messages in Telugu and English to her sister alleging sexual harassment. The victim also stated that like her, many students in the college have been facing sexual harassment.

Police said Nunela Shankar Rao (Chemistry Lab Technician) sexually harassed the victim. Some of the female students told the police that technician Rao misbehaved with them in the laboratory. They said he touches female students inappropriately.

Shankar Rao was booked for sexual harassment, while the other four were arrested for negligence that led to the death of the student.

DCP said that the management of the college violated the basic guidelines by allocating a room to the warden’s husband at the hostel campus. “We have seized the mobile phones of the accused persons and deceased for further investigation,” the officer said.

NHRC seeks detailed report on student suicide over sexual harassment

Taking suo motu cognizance of media reports, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) and called for a detailed report on the matter within four weeks. NHRC also asked police to include a status report of the investigation.

The NHRC mentioned that the victim girl in a message to her father said that sexual harassment of female students is common in the college and the management was not able to stop it.

The Commission has further observed that apparently, the negligent and reckless attitude of the authorities in the institution has led to this incident. This, as well as the allegations of sexual harassment of other students in the college, require to be investigated thoroughly so that the perpetrators are booked and such incidents of violation of the right to life and dignity do not recur.

The victim was subjected to sexual harassment by one of the faculty members of the college who had clicked her compromising pictures and was blackmailing her that he would upload these on social media, the NHRC said.