A young woman has alleged that she was raped by a faculty member of a private institute in Salt Lake where she had enrolled to prepare for civil services exams.
A team from the Bidhannagar police commissionerate arrested the accused in Madhya Pradesh.
The woman has mentioned in her complaint that the accused, who taught geography, had called her to the institute’s guesthouse in Salt Lake Sector II and raped her.
“The woman said in the complaint that the teacher wanted to meet her to discuss her performance in an examination held by the institute. The woman went to the institute’s guesthouse to meet him on December 11, 2021. According to her complaint, she was overpowered and raped inside the guesthouse,” said an officer of the Bidhannagar police.
The teacher also allegedly beat up the student and threatened to harm her family when she said she would expose him. The woman did not report the matter to the police.
In February, the accused had allegedly again called her up and asked her to meet him in his hometown Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh.
When the woman refused, the teacher allegedly abused her verbally and threatened to get her killed. He is also said to have told her that he would circulate a video of the alleged rape on social media unless she paid him Rs 5 lakh.
The woman then approached the police and lodged a complaint of rape and criminal intimidation against the teacher on February 15.
A team of the Bidhannagar police arrested the teacher in Gwalior and brought him to Kolkata on remand. If convicted, he could be jailed for life.
A senior officer of the Bidhannagar commissionerate said it was “very important” for women subjected to sexual assault to come forward and lodge a complaint.
“A large section of the women and girls does not report such incidents fearing pressure from family or social stigma. We encourage women and girls to report any case of harassment against them,” said the officer.