HCU Professor Attempts To Rape Foreign Student, Suspended

Student protests rocked the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) on Saturday after a professor allegedly tried to molest a foreign student.

According to the police, Ravi Ranjan, a professor in the Department of Hindi, School of Humanities, allegedly called the student to his residence near the campus on Friday evening on the pretext of teaching her Hindi, and tried to sexually assault her after offering her alcohol. And when the student resisted his act, Ranjan allegedly beat her up severely and left her at her hostel.

The victim, who is from Thailand and had recently joined a masters' course in the university, was rushed to the health centre of the university by other students. After the check-up, she lodged a complaint with Gachibowli police station.

The police registered a case against Ranjan under IPC section 354 and took him into custody.

After learning about the incident, students gathered outside the main gate of the campus and staged a protest, demanding stringent action against the Professor.

Students affiliated to the Akhila Bharathiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) slammed the university authorities for the delay in lodging a police complaint against Ranjan, and demanded that he be removed from service immediately.

With the students continuing and intensifying the protest, the authorities of the university suspended Ranjan from service.

"The university condemns the incident that occurred involving Prof. Ravi Ranjan, Department of Hindi, and a student on December 2, 2022," read a statement from the university.

"Based on the criminal complaint under investigation vide FIR No. IPC 1391/2022 registered under Sections 354 and 354 (A) of the IPC with the Gachibowli Police Station, Prof. Ravi Ranjan is placed under suspension with immediate effect (sic)," it added.

Ranjan is expected to be produced in a court later today.