JNU student molested on campus; Students and teachers allege inadequate security

[ad_1]

The JNU campus spans approximately 1,000 acres of land.

New Delhi:

A Ph.D. A Jawaharlal Nehru University student was allegedly assaulted as he walked around campus around midnight on Monday, sparking a student protest and bringing the issue of security across the sprawling campus back into the spotlight.

Police said one case has been registered and multiple teams are working to catch the accused.

They said a PCR call regarding a student sexually assaulted inside JNU was received at Vasant Kunj North police station around 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday.

Deputy Police Commissioner (South West) Gaurav Sharma along with SHO Vasant Kunj North and staff rushed to the scene.

“It was revealed that at approximately 11:45 p.m. on Monday, a doctoral student was walking around campus. As she was walking near the university’s East Gate Road, a man came on a bicycle from inside campus and tried to assault him,” Sharma said.

The young girl sounded the alarm and the accused fled.

“Given the seriousness and sensitivity of the incident, the SWD Police team led by DCP Gaurav Sharma acted swiftly and took immediate notice,” Delhi Police later tweeted.

“FIR No 42/22 U/s 354A/354B/323/341/379 IPC at PS Vasant Kunj Nord has been registered and the investigation is ongoing. Several teams have been working since then to arrest the accused,” a- he indicated.

Flapping dhaplis and carrying signs demanding justice for a woman, dozens of students protested the incident on Tuesday. According to the protesters, they have given the police a 48-hour ultimatum to make arrests or risk intensifying their unrest.

They claimed that the accused accosted the victim as she was walking near the East Gate, dragged her and attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he escaped after snatching her cell phone. “She suffered cuts and bruises and is still traumatised. Police had shown her photographs of 25 to 30 suspects but said they were not involved. She says she will be able to identify,” one student said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union had launched a protest appeal against the incident.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) and the students’ union alleged that there had been a series of security breaches on campus under the eyes of the Cyclops security agency and said the accused in the January 5, 2020 attack by masked men have yet to be arrested.

The JNU campus covers approximately 1,000 acres of land and has ample green space.

“There were burglaries at the homes of faculty members, the attack on January 5 when masked men entered campus and attacked students and teachers, and then this incident,” said the secretary of JNUTA, Moushumi Basu.

“The students work in the libraries and the incident happened on a well-lit road near the east gate and the accused sped towards the north gate where security guards are deployed and there are CCTV cameras “, she said.

The student body alleged that there had been an increase in “gender insensitivity on campus with the normalization of sexist comments and inappropriate remarks as well as an alarming increase in instances of bullying and harassment”. Slogans of ”Halla Bol”, ”Dilli Police Sharm Karo” and ”We want a safe campus” rang through the air as students marched across campus demanding justice for the survivor.

They were heading towards Vasant Kunj police station but were stopped at the west gate by officers. “We met with the police and gave them a 48-hour ultimatum to arrest the accused. We also asked them to hold the university administration accountable in this matter,” said one student activist.

The students’ union also criticized the university administration for remaining “silent” on the issue.

“There has been no statement from the university on this,” JNUSU said.

A student activist claimed there had been incidents of sexual harassment on campus, particularly during the lockdown. “The campus was considered safe for women, but this incident has sent shockwaves and women will now be afraid to go out.

“Women have complained of being harassed and harassed and if they approached the security agency they were morally vetted saying they shouldn’t have gone out on the road,” she said .

There was no response from the university administration. Calls to JNU VC Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar went unanswered.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

[ad_2]