The (Darjeeling Chronicle) DC team thanks the students from JNU who have continued their protest to seek justice for “Our Sister from Sikkim” who had to undergo such horrendous sexual assault and harassment at the hands of her seniors at Visva Bharati University, West Bengal.
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| JNU Students Burn The Effigy of Visva Bharati Vice Chancellor – Sushanta Duttagupta |
In a press statement released by the JNU students, they have said that they were “particularly aggravated by the fact that the University officials led by the Vice Chancellor Sushanto Duttagupta rather than hearing her plea for justice not only belittled the serious issue but also have constantly tried to shield the three students who have been accused of molesting and physically abusing the girl.”
To mark “Solidarity” with “Our Sister in Sikkim” and to protest against the blatant disregard for fairness and justice, the Gorkha Students of Jawaharlal Nehru University along with almost all student bodies like DSU, DSF, AISA, AISA, SFI and few North Eastern student forum included, organised a joint protest condemning the callous attitude of the University officials.
The JNU Gorkha students have demanded that “not only should the culprits be brought to book immediately but that the VC along with other senior University officials should also be legally be held accountable for obstructing justice, withholding evidence and colluding with the culprits to stop the crime being exposed.”
Further, the Gorkha Students have demanded that the VC should immediately resign from his office so that a fair investigation can take place, for he has been using his position in the University to scuttle a fair investigation.
We have been informed that this demand was also echoed by all the other student bodies.
The protest ended with the students symbolically burning an effigy of Visva Bharati VC Sushanta Duttagupta on Teacher’s day.
Corresponding with The DC a JNU student said, “No self-respecting teacher will ever want themselves to be so humiliated, but knowing that despite the Visva Bharati VC Sushanta Duttagupta earlier been convicted of sexual harassment, he has continued to be associated with such a pious institute… we don’t see him resigning of his own accord… hence we request the Ministry of Human Resources Department to intervene immediately and remove the VC from his post… this rot in Visva Bharati is right at the top.”
The effigy was symbolically burned to manifest the angst and despair of his misuse of his high office and his vilification of serious issue of sexual assault.
Submitted by :
Dawa Sherpa
Email: [email protected]
