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Andhra govt orders probe into sexual assault at Tirupathi varsity
Andhra Pradesh government initiates probe into sexual harassment claims by a female student against faculty at National Sanskrit University, Tirupati.
The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a thorough probe into the allegations of sexual harassment of a 22-year-old female post-graduate student by two faculty members at the National Sanskrit University (NSU) in Tirupathi, state home minister Vangalapudi Anitha said on Monday.
Speaking to reporters, Anitha said a police team from Tirupati went to Odisha, where the victim is from, to further probe into the allegations.
“I spoke to Tirupati superintendent of police L Subba Rayudu and other senior officials to know the details. The SP told me that the Tirupati police had already registered a case and he was personally supervising the investigation,” the home minister said, adding that the government would do justice to the female student and there was no question of sparing anyone.
On Monday, YSR Congress party MP from Tirupati Maddila Gurumoorthy issued a notice seeking to move an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha over the alleged sexual harassment of a female student by staff members of the National Sanskrit University, the party said. The notice was, however, rejected.
Gurumoorthy also wrote separate letters to Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, National Commission for Women, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, and National Human Rights Commission seeking immediate intervention in the case.
Gurumoorthy said the female student had submitted written complaints to the university authorities two weeks ago. + The MP appealed to the Centre to order an independent investigation free from external influence.
On Sunday, the NSU authorities suspended Lakshman Kumar, an assistant professor from the department of education, hours after the Tirupati (West) police registered a case against him, based on a complaint lodged by NSU In-charge Registrar Rajanikant Shukla. Another faculty member A Sekhar Reddy was also suspended on the charges of abetting the crime.
“We have registered a case against Lakshman Kumar under Section 75 (1) (sexual harassment), 77 (voyeurism and capturing the images of a woman without her consent) and 79 (acts intended to insult the modesty of a woman) read with 3(5) of BNS,” the SP said.
The SP added the student approached the university management on November 24 to lodge a complaint. She also made a request for the a transfer certificate (TC) and returned to Odisha. “The university constituted a four-member internal committee, which arrived at the preliminary conclusion that the matter needed to be reported to the police,” he added.
