Image of posters saying Stop Rape with candles. (Representative Image)
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Bengaluru: A Bengaluru college has suspended a 21-year-old student arrested for allegedly raping a senior on campus last week. The institution has also formed a disciplinary committee to take “necessary action” under college norms.
Jeevan Gowda, a fifth-semester student of BMS College of Engineering, was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping a seventh-semester student inside the men’s washroom on the sixth floor of the campus building on October 10. He later reportedly asked if she “needed a pill.”
Police said the floor where the assault took place had no CCTV cameras.
“The truth is that we have not found any camera or footage. In fact, the complaint stated that the suspect chose that particular floor because there is no CCTV surveillance there,” a senior police officer told DH.
Gowda was arrested on October 15 and has been remanded to judicial custody until October 30.
The incident, first reported by DH, caused shock and concern on campus. Many students and staff said they were unaware of it until they read the report.
College principal Bheemsha Arya confirmed the suspension and said a disciplinary committee would take further action in accordance with college procedures.
He maintained that “all college floors have CCTV cameras at entry and exit points” and claimed the institution had “robust student support systems.”
“For every 25-30 students, we have assigned a proctor who addresses anything from stress to mental health issues,” he said. “For this girl, a lady professor was assigned as her proctor and she too was unaware of the incident.”
Other faculty members insisted the college had no role in the assault and was unaware of it until after the police action.
Meanwhile, activists from the BJP-affiliated Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) entered the principal’s chamber on Friday, demanding answers about what they called the “lack of institutional response.”