JNU students are aghast after prof Atul Johri got bail barely two hours after he was arrested by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. Nine students from the School of Life Sciences had alleged sexual harassment by the professor and had registered FIRs against him under IPC 354 and 509. The students who have been protesting and demanding his arrest for the last five days barely got to celebrate the arrest before they found out that the professor got out on bail.
After vigorous protests, the Delhi police arrested Johri at around 5.30 pm on Wednesday and he was immediately taken to a magistrate court. The duty magistrate, Ritu Singh, granted bail to Johri and directed him to furnish a bail bond of Rs 30,000 for each of the FIRs filed against him. Johri had pleaded bail, telling the judge that going to jail "would spoil his career". He also called the campaign against him a "political agenda".
The Delhi Commission for Women had also issued a statement on Monday demanding the professor's arrest and suspension. The students spent day and night protesting outside Vasant Kunj Police Station and were supported by various other women's groups as well. After initially celebrating their success, students are now criticising the law for letting the professor go so easily.
"It took five days to arrest Johri and five minutes for him to get bail." a JNU student said. "It is amply clear that the delay that Delhi Police was showing in arresting Atul Johri was simply to help him formulate a legal strategy. When he was finally brought to court, police did not even demand remand of the accused, which allowed Johri's lawyers to make a case for bail," tweeted Umar Khalid.
