DU forms inquiry panel into assault on teacher by DUSU joint secretary

The Delhi University has constituted a six-member inquiry committee to probe the alleged physical assault on a faculty member at Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College by Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) Joint Secretary Deepika Jha, who is affiliated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

According to an official statement issued by the university on Friday, the committee will be chaired by Professor Neeta Sehgal from the Department of Zoology and has been directed by Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh to submit its report within two weeks.

The panel also includes Professor Jyoti Trehan Sharma, DU’s joint proctor, as its member secretary; Professor (Dr) Rama, principal of Hansraj College; Professor Swati Diwakar (Environmental Studies); Professor Darvinder Kumar, principal of PGDAV College; and Awadhesh Kumar, joint proctor.

The move comes a day after a teacher at the college was allegedly slapped and assaulted by Jha and other members of the ABVP, according to a group of faculty members.

A video purportedly showing the incident surfaced online, depicting a teacher being surrounded and assaulted inside the principal’s office in the presence of police.

Several Delhi University teachers condemned the episode, describing it as an “attack on the dignity of educators.”

The Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) identified the teacher as Sujit Kumar, convenor of the college’s disciplinary committee. The group claimed Kumar was assaulted while looking into complaints of campus violence involving students.

Jha, in a statement, said she had visited the college to address complaints of “misbehaviour and physical assault” raised by students against Kumar.

She alleged that the teacher “threatened” her and used “abusive language” in the principal’s room, and accused him of being under the influence of alcohol.

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“His repeated threats, constant staring, and indecent remarks made it quite evident that the said professor had once again come to the college under the influence of alcohol. In that moment of distress and anger, I reacted impulsively, for which I sincerely express regret,” she said.

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) has written to the vice-chancellor demanding a thorough probe into the matter.

“Violence in any form is completely unacceptable in a democratic institution. This is an assault on the dignity of a teacher,” the association said in its letter.

Rudrashish Chakraborty, associate professor at Kirori Mal College, termed the incident “shocking” but “hardly surprising”, alleging that similar acts by ABVP members have gone unchecked in the university.