Demanding professor’s arrest, JNU students clash with police

NEW DELHI: A group of JNU students, who took a protest march to the Vasant Kunj police station demanding professor Atul Johri’s arrest in an alleged sexual harassment case, clashed with cops on Monday evening. While the protest ended around 9.30pm, the students continued a sit-in outside the police station.
Police said they had asked the professor to join the investigation on Tuesday.Four of the women who have accused Johri of harassment recorded their statements with the magistrate under Section 164 of CrPC. Retracting a statement under this provision invites action for perjury. “The cases are being investigated on merit. Additional DCP Monika Bhardwaj is monitoring the probe,” joint commissioner (New Delhi range) Ajay Chaudhary said.
In the afternoon, around 200 students gathered outside the police station. They were carrying banners against Johri and claimed that the JNU administration was trying to shield him. The four women who had gone to record their statement were accompanied by some of the students who were denied entry into the police station. Police said some of them tried to climb over the barricades due to which they were injured. A few policemen, too, were heckled, they said. Some students later reached hospital with injuries on their arms and legs.
The protesters later blocked the Nelson Mandela Marg, forcing cops to divert traffic. “Police are giving the accused time to seek bail and protecting him from going to jail,” a protester said, even as slogans like “Down with Delhi Police. Delhi Police give us answers ...” rent the air.
The Delhi Commission for Women sent notices to the university Registrar and SHO of the Vasant Kunj police station, demanding answers on the case. In its notice, DCW said that it had received complaints from students of School of Life Sciences over alleged sexual harassment.“The commission considers this a serious matter related to the safety and security of the young women. Further, we have been informed that the complainants are protesting lack of arrest of the accused,” DCW said.
JNUSU president Geeta Kumari alleged that when the women complained about the harassment on March 15, the police registered an FIR on the complaint of only one of them. “Police have delayed the investigation and claimed they will take the statement of Johri and the complainants on Monday. But we see that they have postponed Johri's statement and are giving him time to file for an anticipatory bail,” she said.
In the FIR, the student claimed that when she visited Johri's lab, he would ask her to sit beside him on the sofa rather than on a table and chair. “ ... He used to touch me inappropriately. This was always sexually intentioned and made me feel uncomfortable,” the statement said. The complainant said that she told other students about this and when Johri came to know about it, he “made the work environment hostile for her”. She added: “At some point of time, his wife came to us and asked us to not stay in the lab after 6pm and to engage with sir only on academic matters. I decided to register a complaint after I saw another woman being harassed in the same way on the news (sic)”.
The protests, meanwhile, continued to trend on the social media for the second day.