Five individuals have been apprehended by the PM Palem police, relation to the suicide of a minor girl student in Vizag on 29 March 2024. The 17-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh, who was studying at a polytechnic college, had accused her college officials of sexual harassment, which she mentioned as the reason behind her drastic suicide attempt.
Before her tragic death, where she jumped from the third floor of her college building in Madhurwada, she sent a message to her sister alleging sexual harassment by a faculty member. She also claimed that she wasn’t the only one facing such a situation and that the accused had her photos.
In connection with this, the PM Palem police announced the arrest of five individuals from Kommadi Chaitanya Polytechnic College during a press conference on 2 April. The arrested individuals include N Shankar Rao, a chemistry lab technician; Shankar Varma, the head of college management; G Bhanu Praveen, the principal; V Usha Rani, the hostel warden; and her husband, V Pradeep Kumar.
The initial investigation identified the chemistry lab technician as the alleged harasser of the deceased student. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order -1) of Visakhapatnam, Manikanta Chandolu, stated that several students had lodged complaints against Shankar Rao during their investigation into the alleged sexual harassment issue on the campus. However, Shankar Rao has not admitted to these allegations and will be further interrogated.
The DCP also mentioned that the lab technician had been behaving inappropriately with the students in the lab. Regarding the allegations about the girl’s photos, the DCP stated that the mobile phones of both the victim and the accused have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for further analysis, and they are awaiting the post-mortem report.
The DCP pointed out the evident negligence of the college management in this case. Despite the girl’s absence from classes, meals, and study hours, the hostel management failed to report to the police or the parents until late at night.
The DCP revealed that the girl had hidden in the washroom all day and jumped from the building at around 12:45 am.
Following this incident, many students have been protesting on the college campus in Vizag, demanding strict action against those responsible for the suicide of the minor girl.
In response to this, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Andhra Pradesh government and the state’s police chief. The NHRC stated that the apparent “negligent and reckless attitude of the authorities” of the institution led to this incident.
The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report about a first-year diploma student committing suicide due to sexual harassment by a faculty member at Chaitanya Engineering College in Kommadi area, Visakhapatnam district, Andhra Pradesh on 28 March. The girl had reportedly sent a message to her father on his mobile phone, alleging that sexual harassment of girl students was common in the college and the management was unable to stop it.
The commission stated that if the content of the news report is true, it raises a serious issue of violation of human rights and is a matter of concern. Consequently, the NHRC has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police of Andhra Pradesh, seeking a detailed report on the in four weeks, including the status of the investigation regarding the suicide of the student.
The NHRC also stated that allegations of sexual harassment of other students in the college need to be “investigated thoroughly” to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice and such incidents of violation of the right to life and dignity do not recur.
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