Updated Saturday , July 08, 2006 at 21:33
Santiniketan: The sanctity of Rabindranath's Visva Bharati has been violated yet again, this time by a group of the university's girl students.
Their victim is a first-year undergraduate arts student of Sangeet Bhavan. She was allegedly forced into group sex by some of her roommates and an outsider in the hostel last Sunday.
By the time she was released, the girl was in a state of physical and mental trauma.
"I was out of station when this happened. When I reached the hospital I found her unconscious. During her brief spells of consciousness, she was speaking in deliriums. She kept saying, "I'm not a thief, I'm not a fallen girl," said the victim's local guardian, Amita Hazra.
Though the victim's parents have lodged a formal complaint with the university authorities and the local police station, those accused are still at large. Authorities have, however, promised to take necessary steps within the next 48 hours.
"I've just received the complaint. Now we will find out who all are responsible. We have a mechanism to follow and we will take adequate steps," said the registrar of Visva Bharati, Sunil Sarkar.
But that sense of urgency was found lacking with the local police.
"We are investigating the matter. We will discuss and take necessary steps," said the Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Bolpur, Debashis Dhar.
Following the incident, the student is still in acute mental trauma. Doctors have told the victim's parents that she might not recover at all.
This isn't the first incident of its kind at Visva Bharati. Several such incidents have come into limelight in the recent past including one where the sanctity of the university's prayer house was defiled with impunity.
Unless the authorities take stern measures, such incidents are bound to recur at Tagore's abode of peace.
(With inputs from Sougata Mukhopadhyay)
No comments:
Post a Comment