KOLKATA: The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C, pic) has allowed a second-year student, who was arrested earlier this month on charges of rape and is currently out on bail, to resume attending classes from Monday, an institute official said.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the institute’s academic council held on Friday (25 July), following a formal request from the 26-year-old student to continue his studies. He was arrested on 12 July for allegedly raping a woman inside the IIM-C Lake View hostel and was released on bail last week. However, the council has denied his plea to return to hostel accommodation, citing the ongoing police investigation.
“As the Lake View hostel is co-educational and the police probe is still underway, his request to resume staying there was not approved,” the official said. Toppannawar will be allowed access to academic facilities, including the library, but a decision on whether he will be granted compensatory attendance for the classes missed during his incarceration—from 12 July to 22 July—will be taken later, the official added. He has approximately eight months remaining in the two-year programme.
The academic council, chaired by acting director Saibal Chattopadhyay and comprising deans and senior faculty members, took the decision based on legal advice, the official said. The student was arrested after a woman, claiming to be a mental health counsellor unaffiliated with the institute, alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Toppannawar after he spiked her drink during a meeting in his hostel room on 11 July.
However, in a twist to the case, police officials said the complainant failed to cooperate with investigators and did not respond to summons for further questioning. Her father later told reporters that she had been coerced into filing the complaint and that no such incident had occurred.
The Kolkata Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) is continuing its probe. IIM Calcutta reiterated that it is cooperating with law enforcement and remains committed to ensuring campus safety. - The Statesman/ANN
