CHENNAI: A 20-year-old woman interning at IIT Madras was allegedly harassed inside the campus on Wednesday night following which the police have arrested a 22-year-old employee at the food court on the campus.
According to police, the complainant, who has been doing an internship at the institute, was walking along on the campus around 9.15 am when the accused approached her, threatening her with a stick and pulling her hair. She managed to escape after raising an alarm and reported the incident to the campus security.
Based on her complaint, police launched an investigation and identified the accused as Roshan Kumar, a native of Mumbai who had been working at a food outlet inside Isthara Food Court at IIT-M for the past six months. Although Kumar called in sick on the day of the incident, he was seen loitering near the open-air theatre where he targeted the victim, probe revealed.
Kotturpuram police arrested Roshan after scanning CCTV footage. He has been booked under several sections, including the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act. He has been remanded in judicial custody.
In an official statement, IIT Madras said, "An unfortunate incident happened on June 25 where a contractual employee of a vendor operating on campus misbehaved with a student visiting from another institute. The student raised an alarm and the culprit was apprehended by the institute's security and handed over to the police. IIT Madras has zero tolerance towards sexual harassment and is committed to ensuring a safe and secure campus."