The three accused who have been arrested in the IIT-BHU sexual assault case have reportedly told police during questioning that they were involved in three other incidents of molestation on campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
During their interrogation, the accused told the police that they would frequently visit the premises, likely to look for “opportunities”, Indian Express reported.
Varanasi police had on Saturday arrested Kunal Pandey (28), Saksham Patel (20) and Abhishek Chauhan (22) in the incident, which took place on the night of November 1. Police said that the accused were not students of IIT-BHU.
Also Read: IIT-BHU: Two months later, three men arrested for sexually assaulting woman student
A 22-year-old student was allegedly waylaid, stripped, and sexually assaulted by three men when she stepped out of her hostel to meet a friend, according to the FIR. The complainant said that the three accused, who were riding a motorcycle, also recorded the assault.
The three men were charged with gang rape for allegedly sexually assaulting a student inside the Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University) campus.
Two days before the incident, another student had faced a similar assault and had reported it to the Proctor’s office. Police, however, said they had received only one complaint — from the woman targeted in the November 1 incident.
The arrests, which came two months after protests broke out in the institute, have also triggered a political row, with the Opposition saying that the accused were being shielded as they were linked to the BJP, a charge denied by the ruling party.
Also Read: ‘Evil face of BJP’: Opposition alleges IIT-BHU gangrape accused have links to BJP
Opposition leaders shared on social media the purported images of the three accused with various BJP leaders and launched an attack on the chief minister Yogi Adityanath-led state government.
“Every woman across the country is seeing how the BJP is playing with women’s dignity and protecting those accused of atrocities,” former chief minister and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Meanwhile, the Congress’s state chief said that for the BJP, “Bachao-Beti Padhao’ was just a slogan.
The BJP said that the guilty will be duly punished as per the law under the Yogi government. “Under the BJP government , even after having an association with the party, a person who has committed a crime will be arrested and get strict punishment,” party spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said.