The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta's (IIM-Calcutta) Joka campus was in the eye of a storm on Saturday when a woman alleged that she had been raped by a student within the boys' hostel. The police have taken the student, named Mahaveer Toppannavar, alias Parmanand Jain, into custody.
As per police reports, the woman, who is a psychologist, came to the campus on Friday to see the student for a counseling session. Subsequently, she claimed that he had raped her at the hostel premises. Investigating officers mentioned that she was not the student of the school but had failed to mark her visit in the main gate or hostel visitor's book.
"She said she ate pizza and drank water after which she fell asleep. Police are probing," a policeman told Hindustan Times.
Mahaveer Toppannavar was taken into custody on Saturday and produced in court. He was remanded to police custody till July 19 as the probe continues.
In a twist, the father of the complainant informed the media that his daughter was not raped but had fallen off an autorickshaw. "I got a call at 9:34 pm on Friday saying my daughter had fallen off an auto and 'lost her senses'. She was taken to the neurology ward of SSKM hospital," he informed NDTV, stating that the police had rescued and admitted her.
The institute was quick to respond, releasing a statement saying the institute had zero tolerance for such occurrences. "The institute has zero tolerance for such incidents and continues to be committed to maintaining a safe and respectful campus life. The incident is being dealt with utmost seriousness and the authorities are cooperating fully with the law enforcement agencies," IIM-Calcutta stated on Saturday.
Mahaveer's mother had a word with ANI, standing up for her son and baffled by his arrest. "We were called by his friend at about 11 at night. He informed us that my son has been held back and he doesn't know why. My son is innocent. He has traveled so far to study. He will never do something so dirty," she stated.
She also stated that the family did not know local police or court procedures since they are not Kolkata residents.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) state general secretary Kunal Ghosh urged political parties not to make a fuss over the issue. "His party shouldn't be associated with every complaint, every alleged offense. We have to wait for investigation to be done," he added. Ghosh also urged that there be a proper probe without tarnishing IIM-Calcutta's image.
Union Minister of State for Education and BJP leader Sukanta Majumdar said he would speak to the IIM-Calcutta director regarding the incident. He also demanded that the state police conduct a fair probe, adding that there are tight security measures on campus.
