Very recently, another case of sexual harassment came into light when Prof Atul Johri, School of Life Sciences (SLS), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, was arrested after eight JNU students filed sexual harassment complaints against him.

The protests started soon after Atul Johri was arrested and then granted bail by Delhi’s Patiala House court within 80 minutes of his arrest.

As a result of this, the entire science community is being asked to come forward on support of the students who claimed to have been a victim of sexual assault by Johri.

A joint statement has been signed by scientists from Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Raman Research Institute and other higher education and research institutions

IISc professor Sandhya S Visweswariah; Ashmita Patil of AIIMS, Joyee Ghosh of IIT-Delhi Shobhana Narasimhan of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research; are among the 165 scientists who have issued the joint statement.

Students have stalled the functioning of the SLS since the charges against Johri surfaced, demanding that the JNU administration sack him.