One victim in JNU incident refuses to file statement, suspects at large

One suspect, known as Chetan, was in touch with the police and had promised to cooperate with the investigation, but failed to appear before them

One of the two women students who reported being molested and nearly abducted by four men at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus late Tuesday night gave her statement to a magistrate at Patiala House Court on Thursday, said police officers familiar with the matter. The second woman, however, declined to record her statement despite extensive persuasion, investigators said, adding that they plan to encourage her to consent to record her statement, as it provides crucial evidence in such cases.

One of the suspects, Abhishek, was arrested on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

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Amid these developments, three of the four men who molested and attempted to abduct the two women and later assaulted a male student near the university’s North Gate continued to evade arrest on Thursday, said police officers associated with the case.

While one of the men, identified only by his first name as Abhishek, a BTech graduate, was arrested on Wednesday, another, known only as Chetan, was in touch with the police and had promised to cooperate with the investigation but failed to appear before them as promised on Thursday and also could not be reached on the phone, said a police officer, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the case.

“We suspect that Chetan got wind of the arrest of his friend, Abhishek, and decided against turning himself in. He may have thought that he, too, would be arrested, or maybe someone advised him not to join our investigation,” the officer quoted anonymously above said.

While Abhishek is a BTech graduate, Chetan and the other two men, identified by their first names as Mahabir and Amit, live near the JNU campus.

The two women, both studying French, reported that at 11 pm on Tuesday, the four suspects accosted them during a post-dinner walk. The men attempted to force them into a car and molested them before fleeing, the woman’s complaint said. One of the women notified the police at 1am on Wednesday, using the phone of another student, Ranvijay Singh, as their phone batteries had died.

Shortly before their call, the police received a report from a male PhD student at JNU about an assault by four men near the North Gate. In his complaint, the student said the suspects created a disturbance while eating ice cream and attacked him when he objected to their behaviour.

During the investigation, the police discovered that the same suspects were involved in both incidents. Details of the vehicle and its occupants were found in the university gate’s visitors’ logbook, leading to the registration of two separate cases at Vasant Kunj North and Kishangarh police stations.

Discrepancy in suspect’s account, say police

Three police teams have been assembled to gather evidence, record statements, and apprehend the suspects, with a particular focus on their potential hideouts and their social circles, said a second police officer familiar with the matter.

“We are on high alert in all Delhi courts, anticipating attempts by the suspects to secure an anticipatory bail. We are also using electronic surveillance to track their locations,” said the second officer, requesting anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

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Investigators said that Abhishek, who was arrested on Wednesday afternoon, admitted to assaulting the male student but denied the allegations of molestation and abduction. He said that he and his friends were on the JNU campus in his uncle’s car, a white Maruti Swift Dzire, to visit a friend, Sameer, who he claims is a student at JNU, said investigators. “However, the address Abhishek provided turned out to be a professor’s residence with no connection to anyone named Sameer,” said a third police officer involved with the investigation.

When confronted with this discrepancy, Abhishek offered to accompany the police to Sameer’s alleged residence. The police are planning to bring Abhishek back to campus, albeit cautiously, because he may be attacked by students there if they learn about his presence. “We aim to trace the four suspects’ paths on Tuesday night and locate Sameer. For this purpose, we might send plainclothes officers with Abhishek to prevent identification,” said a senior police officer involved with the case.

Statement of one complainant, four witnesses recorded

On Thursday, one of the two women provided her statement to a magistrate at Patiala House Court, under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), while statements from at least four additional witnesses, including campus security guards, were also recorded, said officers.

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With no CCTV coverage of the crime scene and no eyewitnesses, the investigation is reliant on technical and circumstantial evidence, said police officers familiar with the matter. The police intend to cross-reference the locations of the complainants and the suspects at the time of the incident using phone service provider data, and they continue to seek potential eyewitnesses.