Sexual Violence Surges in Vidarbha’s Offices and Campuses (2020–2025)

thenewsdirt
Jul 21
11 min read

A 45-year-old counsellor from Nagpur was arrested recently for sexually exploiting and blackmailing at least 50 students over 15 years.

In another incident, a computer science professor at a Nagpur college allegedly demanded sexual favours from female students in exchange for good marks. He was suspended and faces a police investigation.

These disturbing cases highlight a growing pattern in Vidarbha. Across the region, encompassing districts like Nagpur, Amravati, Yavatmal and Chandrapur, more and more women and girls are coming forward with accounts of sexual harassment and assault in both workplaces and educational institutions.

The rise in reported incidents is exposing an entrenched problem that was long under-reported, and it is forcing institutions to confront what many victims have endured quietly for years.

Rising Cases and Unveiled Data

Official data confirm that incidents of sexual violence have been climbing in Vidarbha in recent years.

Vidarbha contributed an estimated 11,000 cases of crimes against women in 2023 alone, reflecting a steady increase in reported offences.

This mirrors the broader trend in Maharashtra. The state recorded 39,526 cases of crimes against women in 2021, which rose to 45,335 in 2022 and further to 47,381 in 2023. These include crimes such as rape, molestation, domestic violence, and harassment.

In Nagpur city, the largest urban centre in Vidarbha, over 1,100 cases were registered in 2021. Alarming numbers have continued into 2024. In the first eight months of that year alone, Nagpur city police logged 213 rape cases and more than 300 molestation cases, alongside hundreds of kidnappings and domestic violence reports. Sexual offences have shown a consistent rise since 2022, and molestation now occurs even more frequently than rape in reported data.

Multiple factors are believed to be driving this surge. Some activists and officials point out that worsening social stresses, from economic hardship to patriarchal attitudes, continue to fuel violence against women.

At the same time, improved mechanisms for reporting have likely contributed to the higher numbers. Police across Maharashtra have introduced dedicated women’s help desks, “Nirbhaya” patrol squads, and even an e-FIR (online FIR) system, making it easier for women in Vidarbha to file complaints. These measures have encouraged victims who might previously have stayed silent to come forward.

Expanded help desks and online reporting have, according to law enforcement sources, lowered the barrier for reporting incidents.

In short, the rising statistics may indicate not only an uptick in incidents but also that what was once hidden is now being officially documented.

Notably, the pattern of crimes in Vidarbha shows certain categories dominating. Domestic violence remains the most frequently reported offence against women in the region, consistent with national trends.

Following that are crimes like kidnapping, molestation, and sexual assault. Dowry-related harassment is relatively less common in Vidarbha compared to some other parts of India, but abuse over property and finances does surface in complaints.

The fact that molestation cases are now more common than rape cases in reports may suggest that women are increasingly reporting a broader spectrum of sexual harassment, not just the most extreme forms.

This could be a sign of growing awareness that “lesser” forms of sexual coercion or misconduct are unacceptable and punishable, too.

Workplace Harassment in Vidarbha

Workplaces are a significant arena of concern. The Maharashtra State Commission for Women, which tracks complaints across the state, received over 2,000 complaints related to workplace harassment between 2021 and late 2024. This figure includes various forms of harassment women faced at work, ranging from sexual harassment to bullying and discrimination.

An RTI inquiry by a Nagpur activist revealed that 2,094 workplace harassment cases were registered with the commission in that four-year period.

State Women’s Commission member Abha Pande, who oversees the Vidarbha region, noted that ensuring women’s safety at work remains a big challenge. According to the commission’s data, the number of formal complaints specifically about sexual harassment in the workplace has remained below 40 per year on average.

However, when including other types of harassment and abuse at work, the commission has been receiving around 500 workplace-related complaints annually. This suggests that while only the most overt sexual misconduct may get labelled under “sexual harassment” in reports, many women are experiencing other forms of intimidation, stalking, or gender-based harassment on the job.

Pervasive under-reporting and patchy enforcement of laws have historically obscured the true scale of workplace sexual violence. India’s landmark legislation, the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, 2013, mandates that every employer set up an Internal Complaints Committee and follow a due process when sexual harassment allegations arise.

Yet, a decade after the law came into effect, compliance is far from complete. In fact, the Supreme Court of India recently flagged “serious lapses” in the implementation of the POSH Act nationwide.

In a May 2023 judgment, the Court noted with displeasure that many organisations’ internal committees had not been conducting fair inquiries or were not constituted properly. This judicial observation stemmed from a case where an internal committee rushed through proceedings and denied the accused due process, reflecting broader systemic issues.

The verdict prompted the Court to issue fresh directives to governments and employers to reinforce anti-harassment training and oversight of complaint committees. The implication for Vidarbha’s companies, factories and government offices is clear. Simply having a law on paper is not enough if institutions do not genuinely enforce it.

On the ground in Vidarbha, awareness of workplace sexual harassment remains uneven. Big corporations and government departments in cities like Nagpur have generally set up the required complaint committees and conduct workshops on the subject. In contrast, smaller businesses and workplaces in rural areas often lag behind. “Though awareness about sex education is growing, rural regions still lag behind in addressing these concerns,” Abha Pande observed in an interview, citing cases from villages where women and even minors face abuse but rarely report it.

In many of Vidarbha’s more remote communities, women may not be fully informed of their rights under the POSH Act, and the stigma around speaking up remains high. Activists recount instances of young women employed in fields like agriculture, brick kilns or small factories who choose not to report harassment by supervisors out of fear of losing their jobs or because of family pressure to “keep quiet and endure”.

Encouragingly, there are efforts to change this climate. Local industry associations have begun to organise training sessions about the POSH Act. For example, the Vidarbha Industries Association recently held awareness programmes for member companies on how to prevent and address sexual harassment at work.

Law enforcement authorities have also urged women to use platforms like the central government’s SHe-Box portal (an online complaint portal for working women) to lodge grievances if their employer fails to act.

“Every case is unique and demands a tailored approach. It’s not just about punishing offenders but also implementing preventive measures at the initial stages,” Pande stressed, underscoring that simply reacting to incidents is not enough. Workplaces need proactive policies to stop harassment before it starts. Her remarks reflect a view that, in addition to penalising offenders, creating a safer work environment through sensitisation and early intervention is crucial.

Harassment in Educational Institutions in Vidarbha

Schools, colleges, and universities in Vidarbha have not been immune to the wave of sexual violence cases. If anything, recent incidents suggest that educational institutions face a serious challenge in protecting students from sexual harassment.

The Nagpur professor’s case in 2022 was a striking example. A senior faculty member at a city college was accused by multiple students of pressuring them for sexual favours to improve their grades. The allegations, which included inappropriate touching and explicit threats to fail students who refused, sparked outrage on campus.

After a group of brave students lodged a formal complaint at the local police station, the college suspended the professor, and a criminal case was registered. He fled when the scandal broke, and police launched a manhunt to track him down.

Notably, it was not just an internal matter. Members of a student organisation and a youth political wing (the Yuva Sena) intervened to support the victims and ensure the college took action. The incident served as a wake-up call that sexual harassment by those in positions of authority, even teachers, is a reality that students in Vidarbha have to guard against.

Students of Dada Ramchand Bakhru Sindhu Mahavidyalaya in Nagpur protest outside a police station in May 2022 after filing complaints against a professor for sexual harassment. The head of the department had allegedly been demanding sexual favours from female students in exchange for higher marks.

Unfortunately, the Nagpur case is far from isolated. In September 2024, a male teacher at a government-aided school in Nagpur’s Sadar area was arrested for molesting two minor girl students and physically abusing several boy students. The girls bravely reported the teacher’s obscene behaviour to their principal, who set up an inquiry committee. When the committee confirmed the misconduct, a police complaint was filed, and the 47-year-old teacher was taken into custody under relevant sections of the law (including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act).

Investigators found that the teacher had been harassing students for some time before the victims spoke up. This incident, reported in local media, underlines the fact that even primary and secondary schools in the region can be sites of sexual predation, perpetrated by those entrusted with children’s care.

Higher education institutes have also seen troubling episodes. At the prestigious Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) in Nagpur, a female student lodged a sexual harassment complaint in late 2024 against a male classmate who allegedly groped her during a campus event.

The university’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) investigated and found the accused student guilty of misconduct.

In an initial decision, the ICC recommended penalties. The student was to be barred from representing the university in any events, removed from official positions, and made to undergo counselling. However, by the time the findings came through, the accused had already completed his final exams.

The university administration chose not to impose any harsher punishment or rusticate him, arguing that he was a student in his final days and that his “academic career and future prospects” should not be jeopardised.

In effect, the guilty party was allowed to quietly graduate with no real consequences, while the complainant, who also graduated, was left feeling that her fight for justice was in vain.

This “quiet burial” of the case, as it was later described in the press, drew widespread criticism. Observers pointed out that under UGC regulations, a university is obligated to act on an ICC’s recommendations and treat sexual harassment as a serious disciplinary offence, potentially punishable by suspension or expulsion.

By letting the student off, MNLU Nagpur’s handling was seen as emblematic of a broader problem. Many higher educational institutions seem more concerned with avoiding scandal than with accountability. Student groups and alumni expressed outrage on social media, arguing that such inaction sends a message that even proven sexual harassment can be brushed aside if it’s inconvenient for the institution’s reputation.

The issues on campuses go beyond individual cases; they are also systemic. A national campus climate survey published in 2024 found an alarming prevalence of sexual misconduct in colleges and universities. According to the survey (which included students from Maharashtra), about 48% of students reported encountering some form of “explicit sexism” or sexual harassment during their time in college.

Even more disturbing, roughly 10% of respondents, 1 in 10, said they had been sexually assaulted (from groping to rape) by someone in their institution. Despite these high numbers, reporting rates were abysmally low.

Only 15.7% of those who experienced sexual assault on campus actually filed an official complaint, whether with the college’s ICC or the police. The vast majority stayed silent officially, often due to fear of retaliation or a belief that the college authorities would not seriously address their grievance.

Indeed, the survey highlighted a serious lack of confidence in institutions. Approximately 80% of students surveyed said that the unresponsiveness of the college administration was a key factor that contributed to unsafe environments on campus.

Tellingly, not even half of the students were aware that their college even had an Internal Complaints Committee to deal with sexual harassment issues. This lack of awareness and trust is a major hurdle. It suggests that many educational institutions have not effectively publicised their grievance redressal mechanisms or earned students’ faith that complaints will be taken seriously.

Vidarbha’s colleges and schools reflect this national picture. Many institutions in the region have formally constituted ICCs as required by law, and there are rules in place on paper against sexual harassment.

Yet students often aren’t informed about how to access these bodies. “Not even half of the surveyed students were even aware of the internal complaints committee in their colleges,” the 2024 report noted, revealing a glaring communication gap. In practice, some victims in Vidarbha have had to turn to external avenues, such as student unions, the police, or the media, to get action on their complaints. The Nagpur professor case, for instance, only gained traction after students went public and filed an FIR, prompting the college to act under external pressure. In other colleges, there have been whispers of harassment by faculty or seniors that never translate into formal complaints, often because the victims doubt that college administrators will support them.

However, there are signs of change as awareness grows. Campus workshops on gender sensitivity and legal rights have been conducted in a few universities around Nagpur and Amravati, often with the help of local NGOs and police officers. These sessions educate students on what constitutes harassment and encourage them to speak out. Some colleges have also started anonymous complaint drop-boxes and online portals to make reporting easier for students uncomfortable with a face-to-face confrontation.

Media coverage and public scrutiny have started to have an impact. Local news outlets in Vidarbha now regularly report on incidents of sexual harassment in institutes, which were not common a decade ago.

This visibility has led to greater accountability. When a sexual assault case at a rural college in Yavatmal district surfaced last year, the outcry pushed authorities to suspend the accused staff member and send a fact-finding team to the campus.

Such developments suggest that while sexual violence in educational settings remains a severe problem, it is increasingly recognised as a problem rather than swept under the rug. Students, too, are becoming bolder in protesting and demanding action; one can increasingly see student councils and youth organisations in Vidarbha organising talks on consent and supporting peers who come forward with allegations.

What is unfolding in Vidarbha is part of a larger reckoning with sexual violence in everyday spaces. Workplaces and campuses, places that are supposed to be safe and enabling, have often been anything but for women and girls.

Now, a growing number of survivors are breaking their silence and insisting on accountability.

The steady rise in complaints and reports from Vidarbha’s offices, colleges and schools indicates that an entrenched issue is finally emerging into public view. This exposure in itself is a crucial first step. It has put pressure on employers, educators, and authorities to no longer ignore or quietly dismiss the problem. From shop floors to university halls, the message resonating through the region is that sexual harassment can no longer be treated as a private matter or an acceptable cost of women stepping into public life.

Vidarbha now finds itself at a crossroads. The courage of those who have spoken up has begun to chip away at a culture of silence, but the true test lies in how institutions respond. Will companies implement zero-tolerance policies and properly train their staff and Internal Committees? Will schools and colleges deal with complaints transparently and protect victims over reputations?

These questions have taken on urgency as case after case makes headlines. What’s clear is that the stakes are high. The safety and dignity of women in Vidarbha, whether in a classroom or a corporate boardroom, depend on sustained attention to this issue. The region’s experience so far shows both the scale of the challenge and the power of awareness: as more women voice their stories, they empower others to do the same, and gradually, the cycle of silence and abuse can be broken.

The coming years will be pivotal in determining whether this emerging awareness can translate into concrete change, so that workplaces and educational institutions in Vidarbha become truly safe spaces rather than the sites of fear and trauma that too many have known them to be.