JNU student goes on indefinite strike against inaction on sexual harassment complaint, ‘perpetrators roaming freely’

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PTI has reported. She alleged that four individuals, including two former students, had harassed her sexually on the evening of March 31 on campus. On her complain, an investigation into the incident has been mandated by the university administration.

The complainant, however, claimed that the “perpetrators" of the crime were roaming around freely. She told PTI, “It has been more than 30 hours since I first filed the complaint and no action whatsoever has been taken yet. There have been a bunch of formalities; my friends and I have been at the administration, leaving our classes, demanding justice, and doing all we can, while the perpetrators are roaming freely." The university, meanwhile, said it was following the due process.

"We are following the due process which takes time. We also have to give a chance to the accused to provide their defence," JNU Chief Proctor Sudhir Kumar told the news agency. The complainant further raised concerns over her safety and security on the campus.

"It must be known that the person who harassed me and my friend resides in the same hostel as I do, and I am expected to go into the same hostel, the same corridors, the same mess, to face that person who has caused me such mental harassment." The chief proctor had earlier said that the two ex-students facing the allegations have been declared "out-of-bounds from campus". The complainant also voiced her dissatisfaction with the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union's (JNUSU) response to the issue, claiming that she saw the JNUSU's inaction and chose to launch her own protest in response. “After witnessing the ineffectiveness of the JNUSU, I decided to take the matter into my own hands.