Maharashtra: Professor accused of raping student suspended by Aurangabad university

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A university in Maharashtra's Aurangabad city has suspended a professor facing charges of raping a student and harassing her parents, officials said on Thursday.

The Begumpura police registered a first information report (FIR) against the accused, Ashok Bandgar, and his wife on Tuesday night under Indian Penal Code sections 376 (rape), 109 (abetment), 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) and 504 (intentional insult).

His wife also been named in the FIR for supporting him in the alleged crime and telling the woman complainant that they wanted a son from her, the official said.

The administration of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University has initiated action against Bandgar and suspended him on Wednesday, as per its order.

It also said the university has decided to conduct a separate divisional inquiry against him.

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According to police, the accused, who taught drama and took online classes between 2019 and 2021, came in contact with the complainant when she was preparing for her dissertation. He won her confidence and allegedly persuaded her to live at his home in Aurangabad with his family.

During her stay in Aurangabad, the accused allegedly raped her on multiple occasions between February 2022 and February 2023, an official earlier said.

When the complainant informed Bandgar's wife about the alleged sexual assaults, the latter told her that they wanted a son from her, said the official citing the FIR.

The complainant went back to her home in Buldhana district after she took ill, but the accused allegedly kept harassing her on the phone, the official said.

The woman then told her father about the alleged sexual assaults and they approached the university's Vishakha committee, which looks into complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace.

When the accused was summoned, he tried to threaten the woman's parents, the official said.

The university administration recently gave a letter to the complainant saying she could approach the police. She then filed a complaint against the accused following which he was booked, the official added.

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