Taking steps to address students concerns, safety after 'rape' incident, says IIM Calcutta

KOLKATA: The Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta on Sunday said it is actively engaging with students and taking necessary steps to address their concerns in the wake of the alleged sexual assault of a woman on its campus.

The woman was allegedly raped by a student of IIM-Calcutta inside a hostel on the campus, police had said on Saturday. The accused student was arrested on Saturday on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman, he said. A court here has remanded the student to police custody till July 19 .

The IIM-Calcutta, however, declined to share details of the measures being undertaken, citing sensitivity of the matter and ongoing legal proceedings. “We are constantly engaging with our students internally to ensure their safety and well-being. I have instructed my team to do everything necessary to address the situation. This is my clear directive,” Director-in-Charge Saibal Chattopadhyay told PTI.

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He said the IIM-Calcutta campus is co-educational and the recent developments have led to some apprehension among parents, which he termed as “natural” given that the institute has never faced such a situation in the past. “I cannot speak in detail about what we are doing. We will not share with the media anything more than what we have already said in our statement on Saturday, as this matter is both sensitive and sub judice,” Chattopadhyay added.

In its statement issued on Saturday, IIM Calcutta had said: “We are treating this matter with the utmost seriousness and are fully cooperating with the law enforcement authorities, who are currently conducting an investigation. The concerned individual has been taken into police custody, and the legal process is underway.”

The institute is committed to ensuring that due process is followed while safeguarding the dignity, safety, and privacy of all individuals involved, it had said. “We wish to affirm that the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta has zero tolerance for such incidents and remains steadfast in upholding a safe and respectful campus environment,” the statement added.

Police have constituted a nine-member special investigation team (SIT) to probe into the alleged incident. The woman’s father, however, has claimed that the reported incident did not take place.