JNU student recounts horror at Asola Wildlife Sanctuary, accuses Faridabad police of not cooperating

The female student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), who along with her friends was allegedly attacked by a mob at the Asola Wildlife Sanctuary on August 14, said she was slapped and abused for “being in the company of men”. The accused also allegedly threatened to rape her.

The student and her six male friends were returning from a picnic at the Bharadwaj Lake, located inside the sanctuary, when a group of eight to nine men allegedly attacked them.

‘Murder threats’

“I was slapped and abused for being in the company of men. Then, one of the accused dragged me to a temporary shelter, while another advised him to rape me,” recounted the woman.

In the FIR registered with the Delhi Police, the woman said, “The men were constantly giving suggestions to each other to torture us. They were planning to tie us to a tree, cut us into pieces and throw us into the lake. One of the suggestions made by an attacker was to throw the men and keep the woman. For the first time in my life, I felt that I had only a few hours left to breathe.”

The woman added that the attackers were constantly calling other men to come rape her.

All this while, she said, her male friends were being beaten up and accused of being “Muslims” and “cow thieves”.

The victim suffered injuries in her chest, abdomen, leg and knee and is currently admitted in a hospital.

The students managed to escape when their cab driver along with two locals came to their rescue and took them to the Surajkund police station.

‘Police inaction’

The police, however, allegedly refused to file a complaint and made remarks at the woman’s character.

“My character was questioned by the police officers. They made comments like “Tera kapda cheena huwa hai ya itna hi hai (were your clothes taken away or were they short anyway)” and “Yeh free sex ka culture jail mein karwatey hai (we’ll show you how to indulge in free sex in jail).”

Apology letter

She also claimed that she was force to write an apology letter that was dictated to her. One of the male students said, “The police constantly harassed us, adding to our nightmarish experience. It shames us to see how quickly and unpredictably such incidents could change your idea of sensibility.”

Later, the Delhi Police registered a zero FIR in the matter.

“The students filed a complaint at the Vasant Kunj police station claiming that the Faridabad police did not listen to them. We have registered a case and it’ll be transferred to the police station concerned,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Chinmoy Biswal.

The case has been registered under Sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 511 (punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC.

Station House Officer, Surajkund police station, Inspector Pankaj Kumar, said the matter came to his notice on August 18 after the FIR was registered in Delhi and that the allegations would be verified.

He said a couple of senior officers, including himself, were on leave the day the attack happened.

In trauma

The incident, meanwhile, has left the woman traumatised. “The incident traumatised me to the extent that I am still in disbelief that it happened. Even when the cab driver and the two locals came to rescue me, I started doubting them,” she said.