JNU students, teachers seek suspension of rape accused

Accused scholar sent to 14 days in judicial custody

New Delhi: A day after JNU student Anmol Ratan surrendered before the police after a fellow PhD scholar accused him of raping her, the university students and teachers on Thursday demanded that he be suspended from the university.

The students and teachers demanded that the university should be declared out of bounds for the scholar to ensure safety of the complainant.

“We are extremely dismayed to know that three days after the complaint has been lodged, the accused is yet to be suspended or declared out of bounds from the university, so that safe conditions of complaint and testimony for the complainant may be maintained.

“We demand that this be done forthwith. This failure to act has tarnished the image of the JNU administration quite severely,” the varsity teachers said in a joint statement.
A 28-year-old girl had approached Delhi Police earlier this week alleging that Ratan, an activist of the left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) had raped her in a hostel room on the university campus.

The woman, a PhD student, said that Ratan, offered her a copy of a movie that she was looking for,  then took her to his hostel room and offered her a spiked drink.

She told the police that he raped her when she was unconscious. He also threatened her,  and asked her not to report the matter.

Taking strong note of the incident, AISA had expelled Anmol from the party which ended his primary membership.

The accused, who was absconding since August 20, surrendered before the police on Wednesday.

Scores of students of the university on Thursday staged a protest outside the Delhi Police Headquarters, demanding that the force refrain from releasing information which could reveal identity of the victim.

Medical facilities
JNU student Anmol Ratan, accused of raping a 28-year-old fellow student in the university hostel, was on Thursday remanded to 14 days judicial custody by a Delhi court.

A magisterial court at Patiala House courts complex sent Ratan to jail after Delhi Police decided not to seek his custody.
The court also directed jail authorities to provide him proper medical facilities after he submitted that he was suffering from heart ailment.

Ratan, accused of raping a first-year PhD student on August 20, had surrendered before the police on Wednesday night, hours after the victim recorded her statement before a magistrate.