BHU gangrape update: One suspect arrested, VC meets survivor

After a span of 18 days, an arrest has finally been made in the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) gangrape case. Dhananjay Rai, station house officer (SHO) of BHU Chowki and investigating officer in the case, confirmed that suspect Deepak Kumar had been arrested today morning. Kumar, a lab attendant at the Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, was identified by the survivor Amit (name changed) as one of the five assailants who raped him in a moving car on the night of August 13.

Kumar has been charged under Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code, Rai told Newslaundry. No other charges have been framed against Kumar and none of the remaining attackers have been identified yet. Meanwhile, BHU VC Girish Chandra Tripathi revealed that the accused had already been suspended by the university on August 29.

Amit, who had accused the BHU administration of trying to suppress the investigation, said that there was a marked change in the attitude of the university administration over the past few days. He had been provided accommodation in the university guest house and the vice chancellor (VC), finally granted him an audience on Sunday. “I got a chance to meet VC and we spoke for nearly four hours,” Amit said. He is also scheduled to record his statement before the court tomorrow morning.

While saying the survivor to be “totally innocent”, Tripathi nevertheless alleged that there was a conspiracy to defame the university by politicising the issue. “There was a scheme to make this a Rohith Vemula type incident,” Tripathi told Newslaundry, referring to Vemula’s suicide, which has inspired a nationwide agitation against caste atrocities. “Organised gangs of criminals are working in the university and city who commit such crimes and then their political mentors take advantage of such crimes,” Tripathi said.