Not Molestation, Its Attempt to Rape, Claim JNU Students Demand Immediate Arrest, Security on Campus

After a PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was allegedly molested on the campus, students have started protests demanding security on campus. While the Delhi Police has filed the case and investigation is underway, the student unions have asked for immediate arrests of the culprits. They claim that the incident has highlighted security lapses on the campus and want the matter to be treated not as molestation but as an attempt to rape.

The student was allegedly molested while walking on the campus around midnight on Monday. She was taking a stroll around the vice-chancellors’ house when the accused tried to drag her and tried to rape her. When she resisted, he escaped after snatching her mobile phone.

She has sustained cuts and bruises and is still in trauma. The police had shown her photographs of 25 to 30 suspects but she has said they were not involved, a student told PTI.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) and the students’ union alleged that there has been a string of security lapses on the campus.  In September last year, the university’s vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had said that the contract of the security agency (that had expired) was extended till the process of appointing a new security agency was completed. This process will require at least six months, he had said. The JNUTA had alleged at that time that their contract was renewed.

The JNU campus is spread over around 1,000 acres of land and has a large green area.

A student activist claimed that there have been incidents of sexual harassment on campus, especially during the lockdown. The students’ body alleged that there has been an increase in “gender insensitivity in the campus with normalising of sexist comments and misappropriate remarks along with an alarming increase in cases of stalking and harassment”. Slogans of ”Halla Bol”, ”Dilli Police Sharm Karo” and ”We want a safe campus” rang through the air as students marched in the campus to demand justice for the survivor.

“Considering the gravity and sensitivity of the incident, SWD police team led by DCP Gaurav Sharma acted promptly and cognisance was immediately taken,” the Delhi Police later tweeted.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union had given the protest call against the incident. The protesters have given a 48-hour ultimatum to police to make arrests or else they would intensify their agitation.

The JNU administration replaced the Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment (GSCASH) with the ICC in September 2017 in its 269th executive council meeting, a move which was extensively criticised by student and teacher bodies, apart from women’s rights organisations.

— Inputs from PTI

Read all the Latest Education News here