Students’ statement against SNDT hostel warden recorded

The Santacruz police recorded the statements of the students staying at SNDT Women’s University Juhu hostel, to ascertain the allegations levelled by a 21-yearold girl. She had alleged warden Rachna Jhaveri had molested her. Police said the arrest cannot be made right away, as all students have held a grudge against Jhaveri because she was particular about rules. There may have been an ulterior motive against her.

They said the students have been unhappy with Jhaveri for a long time and had earlier written letters to the management asking her to be lenient. However, after the letters went unanswered and unacknowledged, there was discontentment among them. When the 21-year-old victim approached the police to register their complaints against Jhaveri, police suspect the other students too may have made false allegations to get rid of her.

A senior police official said, “To make sure no student is playing the victim card to frame Jhaveri under a false pretext. We are conducting a probe. The arrests will be made only after the allegations are proven to be right. Till then, we are recording statements of the students.”

Reportedly, when Jhaveri questioned her near the mess for wearing a sleeveless top on Sunday afternoon, she said she had a skin infection and was advised by the doctor to wear loose clothes for a quick recovery. However, an unconvinced Jhaveri allegedly took her to a room where three girls were present, and forced her to strip to show the infection. Meanwhile, SNDT University on Monday asked Jhaveri to go on an indefinite leave and banned her entry on the campus, pending an internal probe.