Jawaharlal Nehru University slammed for clean chit to teacher

NEW DELHI: Members of Jawaharlal Nehru University’s disbanded sexual harassment redressal body have hit at the varsity administration and Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) for absolving accused professor Atul Johri and victim-blaming. JNU Student’s Union (JNUSU) has called for a campaign to remove the vice-chancellor, claiming that he is “shielding Johri.”
Johri was accused of sexual harassment by at least eight woman students in March last year. However, the ICC set up by the administration to investigate the case gave him a clean chit and also blamed the girls for “threatening him and his family”.

Swati Simha, elected student representative of the now disbanded GSCASH, said this decision will scare students into not approaching the ICC. “This is not the first time that the ICC has blamed the complainants. ICC has a motive to save Johri, and they are now claiming that he was being threatened by the students.”

One of the complainants who came out against Johri told TOI that she was distraught with the decision. “ICC argued that we were ‘friendly with Johri’, which was also used initially by Johri and his supporters. How is the ICC any different?”

JNUSU said it will initiate a series of protests against the VC very soon. “We have been long saying that the VC is shielding Johri. This ICC decision proves it. He should be removed,” said JNUSU president N Sai Balaji.