A government polytechnic college for women in Tharamani on Tuesday witnessed tense scenes as cadre from CPI (M)'s (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) student wing Students' Federation of India (SFI) protested against the management for "hushing" up the case of an alleged sexual assault against a minor student.
A cop from the local police station, which filed a Community Service Register (CSR) on March 23, denied that a sexual assault had taken place.
According to SFI's Tamil Nadu president Samsheer, the student had not returned to hostel on the evening of March 16 after going out with a man she had met on a social media platform, according to a report by The New Indian Express.
The girl returned to the hostel the next morning and said she had been sexually assaulted by a group of men.
SFI alleged that the management had taken away phones of the students and tried to hush up the matter by asking the parents of the student to take her home.
The cop acknowledged that the parents had contacted the child helpline number 1098 and also approached the police station but it was only to counsel their ward about going out with strangers she had met on social media.
"When we asked the student whether there was any untoward incident with her, she replied in the negative," the official said.
Samsheer said a similar stand was taken by the college principal but they were unwilling to buy it and demanded a detailed probe by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the local police station, especially against the student's male friends. A CWC official said they have no knowledge of the case.
On Tuesday, March 25, during the protests, SFI cadre clashed with police personnel guarding the college. Situation heated up as some protesters were seen tugging at a cop's uniform while another tried to prevent the physical altercation, stated the report by The New Indian Express.
The protesters also staged a dharna after which the college authorities called them for talks.
