Two held for sexual assault on PhD student at Banaras Hindu University

Varanasi: The Varanasi police on Sunday nabbed two persons in connection with the alleged molestation of an acclaimed US–based ayurvedic doctor. 

However, the police maintained that the accused’s names would be made public only when the investigation was over. 

The lady who is pursuing her PhD in ayurveda from the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), was allegedly molested by five men on the BHU campus on April 22. 

“I was taking a walk with my friend around the agricultural farms near IIT when five men came to me and tried to rape me. I fought back as I have attended a formal self-defence training programme. They pushed me and took away my mobile phone after they failed to rape me,” she said. After this incident she went on a leave.

 She also approached the Lanka police station, where the cops refused to register an FIR. 

“I met the Superintendent of Police through a friend on April 28 and told him of my tribulation, but my FIR was finally registered only on May 1,” she added. 

Though the Varanasi cops refused to come on record, a police source said that two persons have been picked up from outside the BHU campus in connection with the incident. 

“We put her mobile phone on surveillance soon after the FIR was registered and two suspects are being interrogated at an undisclosed location. During initial interrogation, they informed us that the motive behind the attack was loot,” a source in the investigating team told.