Student from Mauritius arrested in India for sexual harassment, criminal intimidation

A student from Mauritius studying at the Banaras Hindu University has been arrested for sexually harassing her woman professor.

According to the Times of India, Prashant Sharma Chatuah, a first semester student of MA philosophy at the university, was arrested on Saturday night from his rented room in Chitaipur and sent to jail on Sunday after being produced before the court. 

The woman assistant professor had reportedly filed her complaint through the BHU proctorial board. 

Consequently, an FIR (First Information Report) against Chatuah was lodged on 22 February 2023 under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354d (sextortion), 506 (criminal intimidation), 509, 427 (mischief) of IPC and 67a of IT Act. 

In her complaint, the woman had alleged that for a long time, the foreign student was not only staring and making efforts to touch her with ill intentions but also used to send obscene and vulgar screenshots and messages on her mobile phone.

Her complaint contained that “Chatuah also ransacked her office with an intention to terrorise her in the presence of other students and he also tried for her character assassination publicly.”

She had made complaints against him with her department in the past after which the teachers’ council had banned his entry in the department. 

Despite such a ban, he reportedly kept coming to the department and insulted her. “She mentioned in her complaint adding that he had issued life threats to her following which she was also afraid of the possibility of acid attack.”

The activities of the Mauritian student in past two months had made her depressed, she said adding that his activities were compelling her to initiate harsh steps like committing suicide.

Original article at Times of India