IIT-BHU Gangrape Case: Students, Civil Society, Political Parties Take to Streets

There has been an uproar in the politics of Purvanchal after the arrest of BJP IT cell members on charges of gang-rape of a B.Tech student in the IIT-BHU campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The protests have spread to the state capital, Lucknow.

In Varanasi, the Congress held a protest on Tuesday, January 2, demanding “bulldozing” of the houses of the accused and of those who protected them. The protestors, who were marching toward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office in Ravindrapuri were stopped from going there (Varanasi is the PM’s parliamentary constituency).

On Monday, leaders and students linked to various political parties demonstrated at Lanka Gate and Lahurabir in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), demanding strict action against BJP leaders who “gave shelter” to the accused who brutalised the IIT student and also called for bull-dozing the houses of the accused.

It is alleged that the accused members of the BJP’s IT cell had carried out the shameful incident on the night of November 1, 2023 in the IIT BHU campus.

The Congress and Samajwadi Party have also announced that they would launch a protest movement across the state on this issue. They said they would question the “silence” of the Prime Minister as well as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the issue.

In Lucknow, Amitabh Thakur, national president of Azad Adhikar Sena, demanded action against the leaders who protected the accused. Prayers were offered for the purification of the souls of BJP leaders.

Students, Civil Society on Streets

On Monday, BHU students and Samaj Sanskriti Manch jointly demonstrated at Lanka Gate. Members from the civil society also participated in the protest.

The protestors raised questions on the role of the police administration and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and wanted to know who was saving the brutal gang-rape accused for 60 days? They also alleged that moves were being made to deploy police on the campus and impose curfew timings on girl students.

Citing NCRB data, they said crimes against women, such as molestation and rape, were increasing in the state, especially in the areas that are “completely under police control.”

For a long time, students have been demanding the formation of G Cash (gender sensitisation against sexual harassment) in BHU and the implementing of Visakha Guidelines, which the “administration is ignoring.”

“On one hand, the BJP government gives the slogan of 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao', on the other hand, the daughters who have come to study are not safe in their own campus,” the protesters said.

Read Also: Crime Against Women in India Up by 4%: NCRB Report 2023

A protester alleged that “BJP itself has developed a culture of social media trolling where abuses against women have become a part of the daily routine of its workers. In the BHU gang-rape case itself, false cases were imposed against the students who demanded justice for the survivor, instead of taking action against the culprits. ABVP (RSS-affiliated student organisation) was given a free rein to attack the protesting students. The entire police department and administration were seen standing with ABVP, when protesters were being attacked."

Opposition Parties Protest

Leaders and workers of various political parties demonstrated at Lahurabir intersection on Monday and later staged a sit-in at Azad Park.

Speakers in the protest cornered the ruling BJP at the state and the Centre. “The arrest of the criminals two months after the incident raises serious questions about the police and administration. Also, why are Varanasi MP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath still maintaining silence on this shameful incident?”, they said.

They said BJP should clarify how the three IT cell accused got access to PM Modi, party president JP Nadda, and CM Adityanath. “It is evident from the photographs that they were flourishing under the patronage of senior BJP leaders. This is the reason why the police protected all three for two months,” some speakers alleged.

Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party (SP) has started preparing for a movement to corner BJP in a big way on the BHU gang-rape case. Party chief Akhilesh Yadav has called upon leaders of all frontal organisations to launch agitations,

"When leaders and workers associated with the BJP are carrying out such crimes, then the condition of the state can be understood. Intoxicated on power, leaders and workers of BJP are destroying the honour of women and daughters. The involvement of BJP leaders in the gang-rape case has clearly come to light," he alleged.

On Saturday, at least two of the  men arrested in the gangrape of a 20-year-old IIT-BHU student were identified as members of BJP's IT cell in Varanasi. 

As per The Times of India report, these three were arrested on Saturday by the police and have confessed to the crime. The two IT cell members have been identified as Kunal Pandey and Saksham Patel. 

Patel, who comes from Bajardiha, and Pandey, who hails from the Brij Enclave Colony of Sunderpur, have been reported "as holding positions in the BJP's IT cell, with the former serving as the convenor of the city unit and Patel as its co-convenor." The third accused has been identified as Anand. 

(Translated and compressed version of the original article published on our Hindi website)