Indian student in California Armaan Premjee arrested for sexual assault on campus

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NEW YORK: An Indian undergraduate student – a sophomore business administration major – at the University of Southern California (USC), Armaan Premjee, was arrested by the Los Angeles Police on Tuesday for allegedly sexually assaulting another undergraduate student at a campus dormitory on April 1.

A statement issued by police said that Aarman Premjee, 20, was taken into custody by officers with the LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Premjee was released hours later the same day, just before 8 p.m., on $100,000 bond, according to jail records.

The alleged assault “was reported immediately” to USC’s Department of Public Safety early in the morning of April 1, Capt. Billy Hayes said. At that time, the university’s public safety department reported it to the LAPD for investigation, Hayes said.

Hayes confirmed that both students are undergraduates, but he declined to provide further information, citing privacy issues and the ongoing investigation.

The alleged assault was not the result of an on-campus activity or an event sponsored by the school, Hayes added.

It was unclear whether Premjee was being represented by an attorney.

The USC Annenberg Media reported the alleged incident occurred on April 1 in Fluor Tower, according to DPS Chief David Carlisle.

Premjee is scheduled to appear in court on May 2.

The LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division is investigating the alleged incident, which is unusual, according to Carlisle. Typically, the LAPD Southwest Division investigates sexual assault cases among students on USC’s campus.

“Their robbery-homicide unit, otherwise known as RHD, is their elite investigative arm of the department. So they put the best of their best detectives there, and they usually handle complex cases or very high profile cases,” said Carlisle. “Why they’re handling this sexual assault between students at USC? I have no idea.”

LAPD declined to comment.

Premjee was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity at USC but was expelled from the chapter after the alleged incident, according to Evan Lubin, the chapter president, reported The Tab.

Kappa Sigma told The Tab in a statement: “This individual was immediately suspended and has already been removed from The USC Delta-Eta Chapter of The Kappa Sigma Fraternity. We have been working closely with Title IX, Kappa Sigma Nationals and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Development throughout this entire process to ensure that the proper measures are taken. His actions are absolutely not condoned by the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. With respect to the parties and processes involved, we cannot comment further at this time.”