JNU sexual harassment: Hundreds block roads while child lays bleeding
Hundreds of JNU students marched to the Vasant Kunj Police station yesterday evening, demanding arrest of a professor accused of sexually harassing several students. Boisterous scenes unfolded as they overturned barricades and clashed with police. Meanwhile, a child kept bleeding profusely as their car got caught in the traffic-jam, while the 'azadi'-demanding protestors reportedly turned a blind eye and refused to free the streets.
The alleged incidents of sexual harassment
The allegations against Professor Atul Kumar Johri surfaced last week. Some students told the media he made "sexually-colored remarks, demands for sex and comments on the figure of almost every girl." They also alleged financial irregularities: "No instrument has been purchased for years, but crores of rupees have been spent." Johri claimed they were targeting him as he had chided them for low attendance.
55 JNU professors write to police seeking eight FIRs
Yesterday, 55 JNU professors wrote to police demanding registration of eight separate FIRs for the eight complainants. "Each (complaint) reports incidents that are distinct and separated by space and time, (but) you have chosen to register only one FIR under only one of the names."
Statements of some complainants recorded, accused professor summoned
Yesterday, hundreds of students shouted 'Delhi Police Murdabad' as they alleged deliberate delay in police action. Police have denied using force on students. They said they are investigating the complaints. As the protestors blocked roads, traffic snarls erupted on the Asaf Ali Road, Nelson Mandela Marg and Rao Tula Ram Marg areas. Afterwards, statements of four complainants were recorded. Johri has been summoned today.
As JNU students marched, child reportedly lay bleeding
Meanwhile, a child in a car kept bleeding while his mother desperately sought help, a witness claimed. But protesters dismissed it as "not our problem," said Nikita Sara, Head Advocacy and Communication at The Leprosy Mission Trust India. Sara then approached student-leader Shehla Rashid, who was apparently giving media interviews. "All she could do was ask me 10 times if I'd been to college."
