A disturbing case of alleged sexual exploitation at the National Sanskrit University in Andhra Pradesh’s Tirupati has sparked outrage and protests after a first-year B.Ed student, belonging to the Dalit community, accused two assistant professors of sexually harassing and impregnating her.
Acting on a formal complaint filed by the university’s in-charge registrar, the Tirupati West Police registered a case and arrested the accused faculty members, Assistant Professors Laxman Kumar and Shekhar Reddy.
Investigators have seized two mobile phones from the accused and sent them for forensic analysis to verify claims of harassment, blackmail, and coercion.
Student unions have staged demonstrations across the campus, demanding the immediate suspension of the accused, strict legal action, and stronger safeguards for women on university premises.
YSRCP MP Maddila Gurumoorthy has written to the National Commission for Women (NCW), Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and the National Human Rights Commission, urging urgent intervention in the case.
In his letters dated December 7, 2025, the MP cited the survivor’s multiple written complaints to university authorities, saying that Dr Laxman Kumar coerced the student using personal photographs and videos, threatened to misuse her images, inflicted severe mental trauma, forcing her to discontinue her studies and subjected her to continuous psychological harassment and intimidation.
The MP also called for a fair, transparent, and time-bound investigation, focusing that the safety and dignity of the survivor must be the top priority. He also demanded counselling support, protection for the victim, and swift action against those responsible.
“The conduct of the accused demonstrates an alarming abuse of authority, exploiting his position as a faculty member to exert undue influence and cause long-lasting emotional harm,” Gurumoorthy wrote. He further stressed that universities must remain safe spaces for learning and not become centers of fear.
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