IIT Student sexual assault case: IAS Officer's bail plea rejected

The officer has been accused of sexually harassing an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) student (22) at his residence on July 3, 2022.

IIT Student Sexual Assault Case: The court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), Khunti, rejected the bail plea of sub-divisional officer (SDO) Syed Riyaz Ahmad, according to TOI. The officer has been accused of sexually harassing an Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) student (22) at his residence on July 3, 2022. The undergoing police investigation will cover every aspect of the allegations raised in the FIR. While the case is being supervised by senior officers, including a DSP and Khunti superintendent of police Aman Kumar, the case has been assigned to A sub-inspector rank officer as the investigating officer.

The public prosecutor (Khunti), P K Mandal, told TOI, “The SDO had filed the bail plea today (on Wednesday). We opposed the bail on the ground that the allegations against him in the FIR are of serious nature.” The accused SDO would have to appeal before the court of district and sessions judge with a copy of the CJM’s order, he added.

What are the allegations?

A batch of IIT students comprising 20 students had arrived at Khunti district for their summer internship in rural development. The incident goes back to Saturday night (July 2, 2022) when the SDO had invited a batch of IIT students to his residence. According to the FIR, the officer allegedly harassed one of the girls sexually after finding her alone the following day. Following the incident, the girl filed an FIR against the SDO. The police on Monday, July 4, 2022, registered a case with the Mahila police station under sections 354, 354-A and 509 of the IPC and arrested the SDO.

Following the college order, the IIT students have started returning to their campus, according to Khunti deputy commissioner (DC) Sashi Ranjan.  The DC said the students were invited as a part of the administration’s efforts to introduce better practices in the implementation of government schemes.

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