Viswa Bharati schoolgirl alleges rape, accused held

Kolkata, Dec 6:

In yet another report of sexual assault in West Bengal’s Visva Bharati University, a Class 12 girl has alleged repeated rape and blackmail by a Bangladeshi research scholar. The accused was arrested Saturday, police said.

According to the complaint filed by the Patha Bhavan student, who too hails from Bangladesh, the research scholar repeatedly raped her for the last few months by threatening to upload objectionable photographs on the internet.

“On the basis of the girl’s complaint, we arrested Safiqul Islam, a PhD student of the university and presented him before a court seeking five days’ police custody,” Bolpur sub-divisional police officer Surya Pratap Yadav told IANS.

Police said the research scholar was known to the girl and was also her local guardian.

The complaint was filed Friday by the girl’s parents who reached the university after she told them about her ordeal.

In a similar incident, a first year fine arts student (of the university’s Kala Bhavan) was allegedly sexually assaulted by some students in August. They allegedly also recorded the assault on video and blackmailed her. (IANS)