Hyderabad university professor held for sexually assaulting a Thai student

The woman, a post graduate student from Thailand, is not able to communicate in English or Hindi and the services of a translator have been sought

The student community of the prestigious University of Hyderabad erupted in anger on Saturday protesting an incident of a professor allegedly sexually assaulting a foreign exchange student on the campus.

Ravi Ranjan, a professor in the Hindi department of the central university, was later taken into custody by the Telangana police. The university authorities, while condemning the misdeed, have put him under suspension with immediate effect.

Ranjan, a senior faculty in the school of humanities, was booked under IPC sections 354, 354 (A) for outraging the modesty, sexual assault, harassment of a Thai woman.

According to students, the incident happened on Friday evening.

Also Read | Bengaluru: On pretext of dropping her home, school bus driver rapes woman

“The professor took the Thai woman to his residence on the pretext of teaching Hindi lessons, but gave her alcohol (mixed in a drink), misbehaved and attempted to rape her. She somehow managed to escape from there,” a student protesting at the university main gate said.

The Thai woman is reportedly not conversant in English and Hindi.

“It is very unfortunate. A heinous act by one professor, due to retire in a couple of years, has blemished the university reputation,” another student said.

Students alleged that the university authorities did not respond promptly when the incident was brought to their attention on Friday night.

A formal complaint with the police was lodged only in the wee hours of Saturday.

The protests on the campus were led by the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is demanding justice, support and security for the Thai woman. Students are asking for a thorough probe into sexual harassment accusations allegedly pending against some other teachers on the campus.

Ironically, Ranjan had, on 9 November, shared a facebook post about a talk on “Sexual harassment at Higher Educational Institutions: Research results and practical experiences,” asking the campus community to register for the online event.

The university in its suspension order said that Ranjan should not leave Hyderabad during the period of his suspension without permission of the vice-chancellor.