A 22-year-old man who is a staff at a food court inside the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) was arrested for sexually harassing a 20-year-old intern at the campus on Wednesday (June 25, 2025) night.
Kotturpuram Police said the incident occurred around 7.30 pm when the woman intern was walking alone in the campus. The accused youth who held a stick went closer to her and pulled her hair. Raising an alarm, she took to the heels and managed to escape from his clutches. The security personnel who were on duty at the premises came to her rescue. However, the youth fled the scene.
Upon receipt of information, police personnel from Kotturpuram station reached the spot and conducted an investigation. Following clues provided by her, the police traced the suspect who was later identified as Roshan Kumar, a native of Maharashtra. He was working at an outlet in the IIT-Madras Food Court.
A senior police officer confirmed that Roshan Kumar was arrested and remanded on Thursday (June 26) after booking a case under relevant section of the law. Further investigation is on.
IIT-M鈥檚 response
A statement from the IIT-Madras said, 鈥淎n unfortunate incident happened at IIT-Madras campus on 25th June where a contractual employee of a vendor operating in IITM campus misbehaved with a woman student, visiting from another Institute. The girl raised an alarm, and the culprit was nabbed by the institute security and handed over to the local police.
鈥淚ITM has a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment, and we are committed to provide a safe and secure campus to all,鈥 the statement added.