(Trigger warning: Mentions of physical and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.)
After a student of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU) in Hyderabad was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by two men on the campus on Wednesday, 18 October, at least 11 students from the varsity were booked by the OU City Police on the night of Thursday, 19 October, for allegedly staging protests demanding action.
Cases were registered against the students on a complaint by Prof T Samson, the Proctor of EFLU. In the First Information Report (FIR) accessed by The Quint, the Proctor alleged that at around 5 am on Thursday, a group of 200 students assembled in front of his university quarters "with some pre-meditated plan to harm me."
He claimed the 11 students led this protest by "provoking" other students. They were booked under Sections 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot) and 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly), among others, of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
However, the students said in a statement on Sunday, 22 October, that "the FIR, lodged by the proctor against 11 students, is riddled with falsehoods and misleading details. We view this as an intimidation strategy, possibly intended to discourage students from pursuing the matter any further."
Posters blaming the VC for his alleged inaction crop up on the campus.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
Meanwhile, four MPs from Kerala – AA Rahim, ET Mohammed Basheer, V Sivadasan, and PV Abdul Wahab – have written to the Union Education Minister, the National Commission for Women, and the University Grants Commission seeking action in the sexual assault case and the withdrawal of cases against the 11 students.
The professors at the university, too, condemned the incident in a statement on Monday, 23 October, saying:
"We, the Members of the Faculty of The EFL University, Hyderabad, are deeply shocked and horrified by the sexual assault on one of our students within our campus... We are also pained at the insensitivity of some of the authorities concerned at the time of the assault and during subsequent events."
What Happened at EFLU?
On Wednesday night, a student of the university was allegedly physically and sexually assaulted by two men. Earlier that evening, a group of students had staged a protest at the New Academic Block (NAB) on the campus, after the admin allegedly "obstructed students from entering the building," the students' statement said.
The survivor of the sexual assault, who had reportedly participated in this protest, said that she was out for a walk on the campus at around 10 pm when "someone pulled my hair from behind saying, 'We saw you today. This should not happen.'"
The assaulters were referring to her presence at the protest, she said in a statement, which was accessed by The Quint via the survivor's peers.
The Proctor's complaint said the protest at the New Academic Block was triggered after the administration disallowed a proposed discussion on 'Palestine Perspectives on Literary Resistance'. He claimed the programme – organised by the Muslim Students' Federation (MSF) – was meant to "arouse communal feeling and to create disharmony among the students" by sharing "posters, pamphlets, or handbills of objectionable nature."
The students, however, claimed the MSF had cancelled the programme as per the Proctor's instructions. "The 'standoff' at NAB pertained to security guards obstructing students from entering the building, and had nothing to do with the reading circle on Palestine," they claimed.
They also added that "the discussion [on Palestine] was about to be conducted within an academic framework."
Posters blaming the VC for his alleged inaction crop up on the campus.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
After the news of the sexual assault was circulated via WhatsApp groups, students gathered at the residence of the Proctor on Thursday morning, demanding action.
In his complaint, the Proctor alleged the protesters "insulted him and the officials of the University, including the Registrar I/c. Deputy Proctors and the Vice Chancellor ... alleging that there was an assault on a woman student" and that "the University administration failed to provide the security to the students."
"The group resorted to acts of violence and all forms of coercion such as gherao, sit-ins to disrupt the normal academic and administrative functioning of the University and inciting violence against the University officials on the University campus," he claimed in the complaint.
However, as per the students:
"The primary reason for nearly 500 students gathering early in the morning was the long-standing history of indifference towards student issues at EFLU, coupled with the apprehension that the incident would be met with a similar lack of concern. In fact, the administration had been informed of the assault by 10.30 PM itself, and no action whatsoever was taken until the students gathered at 5 AM, which is more than 6 hours from the time of the assault."
The students also accused the Proctor of falsely linking the protest at NAB and the demonstration against the sexual assault.
Incidentally, the incident of sexual assault and the subsequent protests came close on the heels of a students' collective in the university staging a demonstration, demanding the reconstitution of SPARSH – EFLU's complaints committee against sexual harassment – which has been inactive since June.
Over 300 students had been protesting since earlier this week, boycotting classes for over two days.
The Sexual Assault Case
The survivor reportedly fell unconscious after the attack on Wednesday night, and the students whom The Quint spoke to said two students saw her unconscious on the road and rushed her to the health centre.
The administration, in a statement on Wednesday night, said:
"...a woman student of the University (anonymity maintained) was alleged to have been assaulted by two unidentified persons at around 10:00 pm 18 10.2023. The University officials immediately responded to the incident and have been actively taking the necessary steps including informing the police."
"The police officials of the jurisdiction have initiated an investigation into the incident immediately," it added.
An FIR has been registered in the case against two unidentified persons at the Osmania University police station.
"We have received a complaint and we're investigating the matter. We have not identified the culprits yet," a police official told The Quint.
The EFLU administration further said the "Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) of the University has immediately acted upon the incident and is rendering all reasonable assistance to the person in the manner required, pursuant to such duties and functions initiated in such incidents."
Protests Over Reconstitution of SPARSH
The students' protest demanding the reconstitution of the SPARSH (Sensitisation, Prevention, and Redressal of Sexual Harassment) committee was launched on Monday, 16 October.
"We had protested to make the committee active again. After protesting for two days straight and missing our classes, the Proctor finally said the admin would create a coordination committee and reconstitute SPARSH. But we were asked to wait till the students' union elections scheduled to be held next month," a second-year MA student, who wanted to remain anonymous, told The Quint.
"Based on this assurance, we called off the protest. The administration promised that the elections to the SPARSH committee would either be conducted alongside the students' union polls or separately," she said.
However, the incident of assault – and the subsequent response by the administration – angered students.
"We are quite surprised by the admin's statement about the ICC 'immediately acting upon the incident', given how insensitively the health centre dealt with the issue," a second-year PhD student at EFLU claimed.
According to the students, the survivor was asked by the health centre staff why she went on a walk at night alone. "Don't make it an issue, it will tarnish the name of the university," she was allegedly told by the staff, according to the students.
Moreover, the students alleged that the administration "asked the students who had gathered for the protest [on Thursday morning] about the survivor's identity."
"This morning [Thursday morning], we gathered at the residence of the Proctor. But he and other officials seemed to be blaming the survivor. They wanted us to reveal her identity and spoke in a condescending manner."The MA student
"Until Thursday evening, the administration had not given us any information about the steps they were taking. We were not addressed at all," she added.
The students also raised concerns about their safety on the campus.
"There is no CCTV in the place she was assaulted and whatever CCTV they have, the footage is grainy. There was only one security guard posted near the area and he said he didn't know of the incident. How are we supposed to move around safely?" the MA student asked.
The students' demand – apart from finding the perpetrators – is for the resignation of the proctorial board and the vice-chancellor of the university, they said.
(The Quint has tried to reach out to the university via phone. This article will be updated as and when they respond.)
(This story has been updated with more details. The section carrying the survivor's statement about the incident has been removed upon her request.)
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