Man arrested for sexually harassing IIT-Madras research scholar

The Kotturpuram police have arrested a 30-year-old man on charges of sexually harassing a woman research scholar of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, on Tuesday (January 14, 2025).

The Kotturpuram police have arrested a 30-year-old man on charges of sexually harassing a woman research scholar of Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, on Tuesday (January 14, 2025).

A senior official from the city police said a scholar, who resided in a hostel on the IIT-M premises, had come out of the campus to drink tea via the Velachery-Taramani gate with her friends on Tuesday evening. An employee of the bakery they were drinking tea from, identified as Sriram, a native of Uttar Pradesh, tried to touch her and sexually harassed her, the official added.

The man was immediately arrested based on a complaint lodged by the scholar, the police said.

A statement issued by IIT-Madras said that a woman research scholar was reportedly sexually harassed at around 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday at a tea shop located outside the campus, near the Velachery-Taramani gate. The others who accompanied the scholar as well as passersby caught hold of the suspect and handed him over to the police.

The police arrested him and alerted the institute, the statement said. It stressed that the accused worked at a bakery outside the campus and had no connection to the institute.

IIT-Madras has installed CCTV cameras across the campus and has taken adequate measures to ensure the safety and security of its students. Students are also advised to take precautions while going outside, the institute said.

The institute is extending all the necessary support to the woman scholar, it added.