Police book 11 EFLU students for protesting against alleged sexual assault

Hyderabad: Osmania University (OU) police registered an FIR against 11 students of English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad for holding a protest against a case of sexual assault on the campus.  University Proctor T. Samson accused the students of creating violence during the protest held on Thursday night and lodged a complaint with the police based on which the FIR was registered against the students.

The protest in which over 200 students participated was in response to an alleged sexual assault incident that occurred on October 18.

In his complaint, Samson stated that the 11 students provoked approximately 200 others and ‘successfully inflamed violence’ on the campus as the university administration did not yield to the ‘tactics of the accused’. Samson alleged the students assembled in front of his residence on campus with a “premeditated plan to harm him.” He also claimed that he “suffered from psychological trauma and stress as a result of acts of violence, coercion, and disruption of academic and administrative operations in this incident.”

Following Thursday's incident, the administration cancelled classes for two days, a move criticised by few students as an attempt to evade response to the students' call for justice and accountability.

Following the alleged sexual assault of a PG student, students demanded the resignation of Vice-Chancellor E Suresh Kumar and the Proctor. The students also sought justice for the assault survivor. As tension escalated, the administration called in the police. Some EFLU students present during the demonstration accused the Vice-Chancellor of downplaying the sexual assault before leaving the scene.

According to the Proctor's complaint, a group of students under the banner known as the Muslim Students Federation (MSF) had initially sought permission to organise a pro-Palestine event on October 18 on the campus. However, they were denied permission due to restrictions on non-academic activities. The group of students, Proctor alleged, then assembled in front of his residence, raising slogans to lay siege to his quarters.