On the evening of 21 September 2017 a woman student at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi complained that men on a motorcycle had sexually harassed her near campus, and that guards and her warden had blamed her instead of acting. Women students sat in protest at the university's main gate, and on the night of 23 September police baton-charged protesters who were trying to reach the vice-chancellor's residence. The protest spread to Delhi and other cities, officials were removed, the chief proctor resigned, and Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi went on indefinite leave on 2 October.
Key takeaways
- BHU women students began a sit-in at the university's main gate in Varanasi after a student said she was harassed by men on a motorbike on 21 September 2017 and that guards and her warden did not help her.
- On the night of 23 September 2017 police baton-charged BHU protesters who wanted to meet Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi at his residence; students, including women, and two journalists were injured.
- Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Nitin Gokarn's report said BHU did not deal with the complaint "in a sensitive manner" and did not handle the situation on time.
- BHU appointed Royana Singh as its first woman chief proctor on 28 September 2017, and Tripathi went on indefinite leave on 2 October 2017, two months before his term ended.
- A BHU inquiry panel under a retired Allahabad High Court judge reported in April 2018, and The Wire reported that it cleared Tripathi and called the protest "politicised and sponsored".
How it started
On the evening of Thursday 21 September 2017, a first-year woman student living in a BHU hostel was harassed by men on a motorcycle while returning to her hostel. PTI reported that three men harassed her "inside the campus", while The Wire reported she was groped "just outside" it PTI via Business Standard The Wire. Her police complaint, as reported by The Quint, put the time at about 6.20 pm near Bharat Kala Bhawan and described two men on a motorcycle The Quint.
She said security guards about 100 metres away did nothing, and that her warden asked her why she was returning late instead of taking the matter up PTI. Protesting students alleged that the proctor's reply was "Tum rape karwaogi kya jo itne raat to ghoom rahi ho" (Do you wish to be raped by wandering around the campus late in the evening?) Claim · Students National Herald.
The response angered students, who sat on a dharna at the main gate from around midnight on Thursday. They said harassment on campus was routine and the administration was not acting PTI. Their demands included round-the-clock security, accountability for guards, CCTV, checks at the gates, women security guards and a gender sensitisation panel PTI via Tribune. They also objected to earlier hostel curfew times for women than for men The Quint. The lathicharge came "just hours after" a visit to Varanasi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the city's MP The Wire.
Timeline
Harassment complaint
A woman student is harassed by men on a motorbike and says guards and her warden blamed her PTI.
Sit-in at the main gate
Women students sit in at the main gate, demanding safety measures and a meeting with the vice-chancellor The Wire. BHU says the dharna, a day before the Prime Minister's visit, was "politically motivated" PTI via Outlook.
Baton charge
Protesters trying to reach the VC's residence are stopped by guards; police baton-charge them. Students and two journalists are injured PTI via Outlook.
Campus emptied, report sought
BHU advances the Dussehra (puja) vacation and asks students to leave hostels by 4 pm The Wire. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeks a report from the Varanasi divisional commissioner; 16 detained students are released that evening PTI via Outlook.
Commissioner's report; chief proctor resigns
The commissioner blames the university's handling, and Chief Proctor O.N. Singh resigns, taking "moral responsibility" Outlook.
VC goes on leave
Tripathi proceeds on "indefinite leave", citing personal reasons The Wire.
The night of 23 September
On Saturday night, protesters tried to go to the vice-chancellor's residence. University guards stopped them and called the police, who baton-charged the crowd PTI via Outlook. IANS reported that police also fired in the air and that students threw stones in retaliation IANS. Video showed policemen charging at women as they ran to their hostel, with no women constables visible The Wire. About 1,500 police, including Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) contingents, were then deployed on campus PTI.
Both accounts
Protesters' account
Students told NDTV that police baton-charged them without provocation and tried to enter the women's hostel. Students told ANI that women were beaten and abused The Wire. They said they had sat in only after the administration ignored a harassment complaint, and that harassment on campus was common PTI. Amnesty International India said stone-throwing "cannot be an excuse to baton-charge the women students who were staging a peaceful sit-in" The Quint.
University and police account
A BHU spokesperson said some students tried to "forcibly" enter the VC's residence and that "outsiders" who had joined them threw stones PTI via Outlook. Chief Proctor O.N. Singh told The Hindu, "There was no lathi charge", saying a crowd with "anti-social and miscreant elements" broke the Triveni Gate, tried to force entry into the girls' hostels and stoned police, who acted in self-defence. BHU's public relations officer said "80% of the protesters are outsiders" The Wire. Police said some personnel were injured and students allegedly committed arson PTI via Outlook.
What the vice-chancellor said
Tripathi denied that students were baton-charged on campus. He said action was taken against those who "hurled petrol bombs and pelted stones" and tried to burn university property, and that he was stoned by "unruly elements" on his way to meet students at Triveni hostel at about 8.30 pm on 23 September. He said students told him outsiders had kept the victim "in captivity" at the protest site Claim · Vice-Chancellor IANS.
In interviews he played down the incident itself.
This was not a case of molestation, this was a simple case of eve teasing that was deliberately staged a day before the Prime Minister's visit.
Girish Chandra Tripathi to NDTV, as reported by National Herald, 26 September 2017
He told The Indian Express that "security for boys and girls can never be at par. If we are going to listen to every demand of every girl we won't be able to run the university" National Herald. Asked about gender bias, he said, "Is it wrong if we are more concerned about the security of our girls than our boys" Outlook. He told NDTV, "This protest was well organised by outsiders", and named JNU, Delhi University and Hyderabad Central University when pressed Scroll.
The UP government's position
Government's position Government spokesperson and minister Srikant Sharma said the state was "identifying those 'outsiders' who are using the students to do politics and also identifying those who indulged in lathicharge", and told opposition parties to "keep away from holding agitations in campuses" PTI via Outlook. On 27 September Adityanath said "prima facie investigation suggests it is a conspiracy by anti-social elements", that the university had been told not to harass any student, and that the proctorial board should have acted in time PTI via The Wire. Modi and BJP president Amit Shah spoke to Adityanath and asked him to address the issue quickly PTI via Outlook.
One UP minister, Rajbhar, blamed the VC and said the baton charge was ordered by the VC himself: "Sabse bada doshi wahan ka VC hai" (The biggest culprit is the VC) Outlook.
How the protest spread
On 25 September the Congress students' wing NSUI and the RSS-affiliated ABVP both marched against the HRD ministry in Delhi. NSUI said it was refused permission at Shastri Bhawan while ABVP was allowed. JNU students and women's groups protested at Jantar Mantar IANS via Qatar Tribune. Journalists held a sit-in near the chief minister's residence in Lucknow PTI.
Police detained Congress leaders Raj Babbar and P.L. Punia, over 200 Samajwadi Party activists and activist Teesta Setalvad in Varanasi PTI via Outlook.
Inquiries and reports
Commissioner's report. Varanasi Divisional Commissioner Nitin Gokarn sent a report to Chief Secretary Rajiv Kumar on 26 September. It said BHU "did not deal with the victim's complaint in a sensitive manner and did not handle the situation on time", and that the biggest fault lay with the administration IANS via Business Standard India TV. The chief secretary had asked Gokarn and ADG (Varanasi zone) Vishwajit Mahapatra for a joint report The Wire.
Judicial or magisterial? Minister Srikant Sharma first announced a "judicial inquiry", then said, "By mistake, I had said earlier that it will be a judicial inquiry. It is in fact a magisterial inquiry" PTI via Gulf News.
BHU's panel. Separately, Tripathi set up an inquiry under a retired Allahabad High Court judge, named as V.K. Dixit by IANS and B.S. Dixit by PTI IANS PTI via Gulf News. The Wire reported that on 25 April 2018 this committee gave Tripathi a "clean chit" and called the protest "politicised and sponsored" Reported · The Wire The Wire. The report itself has not been published in the sources reviewed.
Outcome
- Officials removed: Lanka station officer Rajiv Singh (sent to police lines), Bhelupur circle officer Nivesh Katiyar, and additional city magistrates Manoj Kumar Singh, Sushil Kumar Gaund and Jagdamma Prasad Singh. Reports describe them as removed, not suspended PTI.
- Cases: A case against over 1,000 students for arson and other charges, and an FIR against unidentified policemen PTI via Outlook.
- Campus shut: Holidays declared in all Varanasi colleges from 25 September to 2 October; BHU's break had been due to start on 28 September PTI via Outlook.
- Security measures: BHU said CCTV would be installed at 65 more sensitive spots, starting at the gates and outside women's hostels, with women in the security staff and better street lighting IANS.
The vice-chancellor's exit
On 28 September Tripathi told PTI that the HRD ministry had not asked him to go on leave, adding, "But if am I asked to go on leave, I will resign." He said it would be "insulting to go on leave two months before my tenure comes to end". Ministry officials said the process of choosing his successor was "coincidental" to the violence PTI via Business Standard.
On 2 October he went on "indefinite leave" citing personal reasons. HRD ministry sources indicated the government was upset with how he had handled the episode The Wire. His term was due to end on 30 November, according to PTI, or 27 November, according to Deccan Herald Deccan Herald. Registrar Neeraj Tripathi took interim charge The Quint. In March 2018 the President appointed JNU professor Rakesh Bhatnagar as BHU's vice-chancellor Careers360.
\1After the Dixit report, she said on television that the 2017 protest was "sponsored". Students who went to her office to object on 2 May 2018 were booked on her complaint, including for attempted murder; The Wire reported those charges were later dropped. On 24 July 2018 a BHU standing committee debarred 11 students from future courses for vandalism, assault and dharna The Wire SabrangIndia. BHU's spokesperson said, "There is no space of protests or dharnas in our campus" LiveWire.
What is still pending
No arrest of the men who harassed the student was found in the reporting reviewed. No court ruling on the case against 1,000 students or the FIR against unidentified policemen was found either, and no Allahabad High Court order on the lathicharge turned up. The Dixit committee report has not been made public in full.
Questions people ask
What happened at BHU in September 2017?
Women students at Banaras Hindu University protested after a student said she was harassed near campus on 21 September and that staff blamed her. On the night of 23 September police baton-charged protesters, injuring students and two journalists.
Why did BHU students protest?
They wanted action on the harassment complaint and safer campus measures: round-the-clock security, CCTV, women guards, checks at the gates and a gender sensitisation panel. They also objected to stricter hostel timings for women.
What did the BHU vice-chancellor say?
Girish Chandra Tripathi called it "a simple case of eve teasing", blamed "outsiders", and denied that students were baton-charged on campus. He said security for boys and girls "can never be at par".
What did the Varanasi commissioner's report say?
Commissioner Nitin Gokarn's report said BHU did not handle the complaint sensitively or in time, and that the controversy would not have arisen if the matter had been handled properly.
Who was BHU's first woman chief proctor?
Royana Singh, of the anatomy department at the Institute of Medical Sciences, appointed on 28 September 2017 after O.N. Singh resigned.
Was the BHU vice-chancellor removed?
Not formally. He went on indefinite leave on 2 October 2017, citing personal reasons, two months before his term ended. Rakesh Bhatnagar was appointed vice-chancellor in March 2018.
Were police punished for the BHU lathicharge?
The Lanka station officer, the Bhelupur circle officer and three additional city magistrates were removed from their posts, and an FIR was filed against unidentified policemen. No convictions were reported.
Sources
- The Wire: Police lathi-charge BHU women students protesting inaction in molestation case, 24 Sep 2017
- PTI via Business Standard: Crackdown on BHU students, two police officials removed, 25 Sep 2017
- PTI via Outlook: Yogi Adityanath orders probe into BHU violence, 25 Sep 2017
- PTI via Outlook: FIRs against 1,000 BHU students; 3 magistrates, 2 police officers removed, 25 Sep 2017
- The Wire: BHU files FIR against 1,000 students, two policemen removed, 25 Sep 2017
- IANS via Qatar Tribune: Students in Delhi protest against BHU police action, 26 Sep 2017
- IANS via Business Standard: Varanasi Commissioner submits report on BHU violence, blames varsity administration, 26 Sep 2017
- India TV: Varanasi Commissioner's report blames varsity administration, 26 Sep 2017
- National Herald: VC downplays the incident, commissioner blames university, 26 Sep 2017
- PTI via Outlook: UP govt orders judicial inquiry into BHU violence, 26 Sep 2017
- Outlook: BHU VC orders inquiry, retired HC judge to head panel, 26 Sep 2017
- PTI via Gulf News: Inquiry ordered into BHU violence, 26 Sep 2017
- Scroll: "This was a simple case of eve-teasing": the BHU VC playing down the molestation, 27 Sep 2017
- PTI via The Wire: Anti-social elements behind BHU violence, says Adityanath, 27 Sep 2017
- PTI via Business Standard: Will prefer quitting to going on leave, says BHU VC, 28 Sep 2017
- Outlook: BHU appoints its first woman chief proctor, 28 Sep 2017
- PTI via Tribune: BHU appoints first woman chief proctor, 29 Sep 2017
- The Quint: BHU's first woman proctor says no dress code for girls, 29 Sep 2017
- The Quint: BHU lathicharge live updates, Sep to Oct 2017
- The Wire: BHU VC Girish Chandra Tripathi goes on indefinite leave, 2 Oct 2017
- Deccan Herald: Controversial BHU vice chancellor goes on indefinite leave, 2 Oct 2017
- Careers360: Leading molecular biologist appointed BHU VC, 24 Mar 2018
- LiveWire: A year ago, BHU students protested. Now they're getting debarred, 2018
- The Wire: BHU debars 11 students for leading 2017 protests, 6 Nov 2018
- SabrangIndia: BHU debars 11 protesting students from future courses, 6 Nov 2018