Police arrest 3 accused in connection with alleged rape of IIT-BHU student

Police in Varanasi have arrested three accused in connection with the alleged rape of a female Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) student on the Benares Hindu University (BHU) campus, a police official said on Sunday.

The SHO of Lanka police station Shivakant Mishra said the accused have been identified as Kunal Pandey, Anand alias Abhishek Chauhan and Saksham Patel.

The alleged incident occurred on the night of 1 November. According to the complainant, she had gone out of her hostel with a friend when three men on a motorcycle forcibly took her to a corner and gagged her after separating her from her friend near the Karman Baba temple.

The accused then allegedly stripped the woman, made a video of her and took photos. They let her go after about 15 minutes and took her phone number, the complainant stated.

On the basis of the victim's complaint, an FIR has been registered under section 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the IPC and under provisions of the Information Technology Act at Lanka police station. Subsequently, a section of gangrape was also added to the case, the police said.