‘He was a serial molester’: Guntur college students allege harassment by college-mate

“Dora Babu tortures us. With his words, his actions. He'll put his hands wherever he wants to. Objectifies all the girls and talks about them. Doesn't respect any senior. That's the kind of person the Principal has made a leader and supports.”

The anger and frustration is palpable when Sahiti*, a second-year nursing student at the Government Nursing College in Guntur, speaks about the incidents at the college. Many of these students protested against a third-year student, Rajeshwari and a second-year student, Dora Babu.

The nursing college, attached to the Government General Hospital, has students not only from Guntur, but from many nearby areas such as Vizianagaram and Srikakulam.

Abuse of power

Rajeshwari and Dora Babu were appointed as student leaders by the college Principal Sarojini Devi to aid the students and to act as a mediator between the students and her, but the reality, according to allegations, is far from it. Rajeshwari and Dora Babu both allegedly ended up abusing their power. Many students, who are freshly out of school, didn’t protest the harassment out of fear.

Many second-year female students who TNM spoke to alleged that they have constantly been at the receiving end of harassment by Dora Babu, who has asked the girls for sexual favours. “He actively indulges in inappropriate touching, asking us to kiss him and more,” said one of the students.

The incident which proved to be the last straw, however, was when he force-fed Radha*, another second-year student, alcohol. As nursing students attached to a hospital, these students often have nursing duties in the evening, which usually keeps the hospital running as it is understaffed. On one such day, Radha had an evening shift, where she was tending to patients.

Dora Babu called her outside, and when she questioned him about what she wanted, he asked her to step outside.

Sahiti recounts what happened after: “He mixed alcohol in cola gave it to her. When she refused, he put pressure on her and told her that he had brought it for everyone, and forced her to drink it. She drank two sips, and later vomited and fell sick. Later, about half an hour later, he came back and smugly asked if she was feeling drowsy, if she was vomiting. When she replied that that is how she felt, he told her that he had mixed alcohol, which is she feels that way. When everyone got to know that night, he got scared, and pleaded with her to tell everyone that he didn't give her alcohol, but only cola."

On Wednesday, the students, who couldn’t take it anymore, approached the Students Federation of India (SFI), as they were scared. The matter was escalated to the Chairperson of the Andhra Pradesh Women’s Commission Nannapaneni Rajakumari, who met the students and promised to help them out.

Post this, the students, along with members of the SFI, went on their own and filed a complaint at the Kothapet Police Station, where they met the Circle Inspector and filed a written complaint about ragging and physical harassment.

On hearing about the police complaint, Radha says Dora Babu consumed poison. The students, however, suspect that this was merely to draw attention away from the issue. Dora Babu is reportedly out of danger.

Invasion of privacy

Speaking to TNM, V Bhagawan Das, the SFI district president who the students approached, recounts the harassment the female students faced at the hands Rajeshwari, a third-year student.

“The students get to step out of the hostel on Sundays, where they can go shopping, or for doing something else. During this time, Rajeshwari has often had people followed, and later used to question them about what they did and who they met, etc,” he says.

According to Bhagawan, Rajanaidu, the Nursing Superintendent at the hospital tried to reach a compromise, where they said that they would give a Transfer Certificate to Dora Babu, and make Rajeshwari a day scholar. “We told them that we didn’t want their compromise, and we want them to punished according to the provisions of the law,” he said.

On Thursday, a five-member committee was finally instituted by Rajanaidu to look into the complaints made by the students to Rajakumari and to the media. The students, however, are scared about their future.

“For me, I don't want any of this. Not Dora Babu. Not Rajeshwari. Not the Principal. If they were gone, we'll all be very happy. There have been too many problems because of them. All these problems need to get solved. It's torturous,” Sahiti says, her voice breaking.

 *name changed to protect privacy