Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Atul Johri has been accused of sexual misconduct by at least nine students.
Police has registered eight FIRs against him on the separate complaints of nine students who alleged that he sexually harassed them in a School of Life Sciences lab. He was arrested briefly for around 80 minutes, before being given bail, on Tuesday, 20 March.
Johri’s advocate R K Wadhwa had moved a bail plea in a Patiala House court on Tuesday insisting that sending Johri to jail would ruin his career.
Johri had joined the Life Sciences Department of JNU in 2004, as an Assistant Professor. In 2008, he was promoted to the post of an Associate Professor and in 2014, he became a permanent professor in the university. Additionally, he has taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor in University of California.
He did his MPhil and PhD from the Delhi University’s Department of Zoology.
Johri has held some administrative positions in the university – such as the Director of the Internal Quality Assurance Cell and Director of JNU’s Human Resource Development Centre. In the wake of allegations, he resigned from all these posts, The Indian Express reported. However, he continues to be the Mess Warden of Chandrabhaga hostel.
Johri is a vocal supporter of mandatory attendance and claims to have been victimised by such allegations because of his stand on the issue. JNU has witnessed massive agitations led by students in the row over mandatory attendance.
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