IIT-Guwahati rape victim questions HC order: Can a 'future asset' do anything to a human?

The IIT-Guwahati victim who was allegedly raped by a fellow student has expressed her dismay with the Gauhati HC's order granting bail to main accused Utsav Kadam. On August 23, the Gauhati HC accepted the bail plea of the rape-accused IIT student calling him the 'state's future asset'. The victim has condemned the decision of the court and has questioned whether an IITian had the right to do anything just because he's a 'future asset.'

“The High Court has released him on bail saying he is a future asset. If the court is deciding on the fact that he is an IITian, then I am also an IITian,” the victim told EastMojo. She added, “If he is being released on bail because he is talented and a future asset, then any future asset can do anything to any human at all. Just because he is a future asset, can he treat a woman like she is beneath him? Just because there is an IIT tag, doesn’t mean he is a future asset.”

IIT-Guwahati rape victim claims she is being 'threatened'

The IIT-Guwahati rape victim has also alleged that she was being threatened by seniors, and added that there were several witnesses who had cut ties with her. “They (friends of Utsav Kadam) are defaming me openly on WhatsApp groups, Twitter and Instagram. I am seeing the posts by IIT-G students as well. There are a lot of people who are supporting me. The Institute is supporting me, my parents are supporting me. But at the same time, there are people within the institute who do not want me to get justice,” she said. 

“There were a lot of people openly defaming me with my name being mentioned. Even the people who helped me reach the hospital have been threatened. The ones who used to visit me at the hospital were threatened by some seniors. They stopped visiting me,” she added. 

The girl has also revealed that the incident and its aftermath had left a toll on her and she had to take therapy. 

The case pertains to the alleged rape of an IIT-Guwahati student who was sexually assaulted and left in an unconscious state on the night of March 28. After she was rescued, she had to be admitted to the hospital the following day. The rape-accused student was arrested on April 3.

The Gauhati HC granted bail to the accused for a bond of Rs 30,000 and two sureties on August 23 saying, '... as the investigation in the case is completed and both the informant/victim girl and the accused are the state's future assets being talented students pursuing technical courses at the IIT, Guwahati,...continuation of detention of the accused...if charges are framed, may not be necessary."