MNNIT Allahabad professor arrested, suspended over rape charge; students demand fair probe

A professor at Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (MNNIT) Allahabad has been arrested for allegedly raping a third-year BTech student at his residence on the pretext of providing academic assistance. Following the incident, the institute administration has also suspended the professor.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Prayagraj members had submitted a memorandum to the institute's registrar, demanding a fair, transparent, and timely investigation into the matter. The incident sparked anger among students, and a large number gathered at the athletics ground and demanded strict action against the professor.

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Computer science teacher at MNNIT Allahabad

The complaint was registered against MNNIT Allahabad's assistant professor Saugata Roy from the computer science department. The BTech student had alleged that he had called her to his residence to help her with her studies and had allegedly raped her.

The professor is a resident of Kolkata and was posted at MNNIT for three years. He completed his BTech from Government College of Engineering and Technology, West Bengal. Later, he pursued MTech and PhD from IIT Dhanbad, as per the Dainik Bhaskar report.

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Professor threatened to fail student

According to several media reports, the student’s mother and sister had visited Prayagraj and spoken with the teacher about academic help. The family was later invited to dinner by him, after which he began calling her to his residence for study-related matters.

According to the complaint, after the student's family left on August 6, Roy allegedly contacted her on Snapchat and began making inappropriate comments.

On August 9, around 1 pm, he allegedly called her to his room under the guise of academic help, where he held her hands, threatened to fail her, and sexually assaulted her, Hindustan Times reported.

Shivkuti station house officer (SHO) Virendra Singh said Roy, a native of Krishnapur in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal, was produced before a court and sent to jail on Tuesday. Further legal action is underway, he added.