27-yr-old man arrested for molesting PhD student inside JNU campus

A 27-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly molesting a PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University inside the campus. The accused was identified and caught based on CCTV footage.

New Delhi: A 27-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly molesting a PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University inside the campus, police said, adding that the accused was drunk at the time of the incident and has been identified as Akshay.

Police further said that the accused is a native of West Bengal and that he lived with his wife and children in south Delhi's Munirka and worked at a mobile repairing shop at Bikaji Cama Place. The accused was identified and caught based on CCTV cameras, placed in and around the JNU campus, police said, adding that Akshay was arrested while he was entering his rented house.

According to police, on the morning of January 17, the accused had fought with his wife after which, she left for her maternal house. Upset over this, the accused consumed alcohol in the evening and headed towards JNU on his scooter. Upon reaching the university, he saw three women entering the campus and followed them with 'bad intentions'. However, the trio went inside their hostels, police added.

After a while, he spotted the PhD student jogging inside the campus. When she reached an isolated spot, Akshay stopped and molested her. As the woman resisted, a scuffle ensued in which the accused sustained an injury on one of his legs. The student then took out her phone and threatened to inform the police. However, the man then snatched her phone and escaped, police said.

An emergency call regarding a female student being molested inside JNU was received at the Vasant Kunj North Police Station at around 12.45 am on January 17, police said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Gaurav Sharma along with SHO Vasant Kunj North and staff rushed to the spot.

"We checked the registers at the entry gates but found no entry related to the accused or his vehicle. It was difficult and the woman was also traumatised. We scanned over a thousand CCTVs in the area," police said. The investigating team then mapped the route taken by Akshay with the help of CCTVs in the area and found that he returned to Munirka.

"After he left the campus, he went to Nelson Mandela marg but saw police pickets and turned towards Ring Road. We have footage of his activities. We identified him and then arrested him from his house," DCP Sharma said.

A case of outraging the modesty of a woman has been registered at Vasant Kunj North Police Station, police said. The scooter of the accused along with the student's phone has been seized by police.