Police brutally attacked a peaceful march dubbed as “Long March” organised by JNU Teachers’ Association and the JNU Students’ Union near INA market New Delhi yesterday. Many students were injured. The police detained 23 students.
The protest was organised against various issues inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) including privatisation of education, scuttling of reservation and demanding suspension of Professor Atul Johri who has been accused of sexual harassment.
Nine women students have filed police complaints against Atul Johri, Professor at the School of Life Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), accusing him of sexual harassment, abuse of power and sexual misconduct.
The JNU teachers are protesting against the removal of several department heads and a coordinator for not complying with the university’s new attendance rules, and a number of them are on a hunger strike.
The march was headed peacefully to Parliament Street on Friday when he police resorted to lathi charge and use of water canons, leaving several students injured.
Meanwhile, several journalists alleged they were manhandled by the police during the clash. A photojournalist with a national daily claimed her camera was snatched by the police. She told The Hindu, “Despite telling the policeman multiple times that I am a journalist, he kept pushing me away. Later, he touched me inappropriately under the guise of trying to clear the crowd,” she said.
