Delhi: SAU student sexually assaulted, stripped on campus; FIR registered

NEW DELHI: An 18-year-old student of Delhi's South Asian University (SAU) was allegedly sexually and physically assaulted, stripped of her clothes and forced to consume an abortion pill by four people, including a security guard, on the campus premises, according to an FIR lodged by the Delhi Police where the victim gives details about harrowing incident.

The first-year B.Tech student was found injured, with her clothes torn , on campus on October 13, a day after she was reported missing, the police said on Tuesday. According to the police, an FIR was registered in the matter today. While the victim's statement has been recorded before the district magistrate, the four accused are absconding.

The young woman, in the FIR, alleged that she received sexually explicit and threatening messages over email and social media from a person identified as Aryan Yash in the days leading up to the incident. The messages included morphed obscene images of the victim and instructions to meet the sender at various locations on campus, according to her statement.

According the victim, the instructions read: "I am standing outside your gate, you will see a girl in B-1 Block, Compound, come with her to Gate 3 of the University." The FIR added that the victim left the hostel and went to C-Block, where she could see a crowd. “I was avoiding going among the people. I thought it might be one of them, so I went behind the building. Then I went straight towards the convocation center. Construction work was underway there earlier, but it's closed at night, and no one goes there. After walking a little distance, a guard asked me what was wrong,” it read.

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SAU Assault Case: Police, University begin probe

The guard then called a middle aged man and two boys also joined them, the woman claimed. “I was sitting on the stairs. Then all four of them came to me and asked, ‘Why aren't you leaving?’” she said in the FIR. They physically assaulted her, striped her clothes, pressed an abortion pill against her tongue, and threatened her life, the victim alleged in the FIR, adding that while one man was grabbing and pulling her t-shirt, the other was trying to pull her pants down as she resisted.

“Then he put his foot on my thigh, someone was holding my eyes, and someone came near my ear and was saying, I will kill your child, don't worry about him,” it said. The FIR also mentioned that one of them kept a leg on her thighs, hit her on her head and poked fingers in her eyes. When she was standing, the accused’s hand was near her mouth and he was pressing a pill under her tongue, but she spat it out, the FIR mentioned, adding that she doesn’t know whether the pill came out or not.

The attackers fled when a university staff member appeared on the scene, leaving the victim injured and disoriented. She was later found by fellow students and taken to a hostel room, where she was counselled. A PCR call regarding the incident was received around 3 pm on Monday. Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ankit Chauhan said, “The investigation is being conducted with due sensitivity and priority. CCTV footage from the campus is being collected to trace the accused, and all leads are being pursued.”

The South Asian University has also constituted a probe committee to look into the incident and asked to submit a detailed report within 10 days. The university administration condemned the incident "in the strongest terms" and assured students of full support. SAU officials said the victim is receiving counselling and that the institution has a zero-tolerance policy on sexual harassment and all forms of violence against women.

The alleged assault triggered protests on campus, with students staging a sit-in at the administrative block for over eight hours, accusing the university of delaying police notification and being insensitive to the victim’s safety concerns. Police and university authorities have urged students to cooperate with the investigation while ensuring campus security is enhanced.

A senior police officer said that the woman has been undergoing treatment for depression following her parents' separation. The police said they are examining all digital communications, eyewitness accounts, and medical reports as part of the ongoing probe.

The FIR has been registered under BNS sections 70 (gang rape), 62 (attempt to commit offences punishable with life imprisonment), 140(3) (kidnapping or abduction), 123 (causing hurt by poison or similar substances), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 3 (5) (Joint liability)