Taxi driver held in connection with attack on JNU associate professor: Delhi Police

NEW DELHI: A taxi driver has been arrested in connection with an alleged attack on an associate professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) last month, police said.

Shankar Devnath was arrested on February 8, they said on Monday, adding that an investigation is underway to ascertain the motive behind the incident. Efforts are also being made to nab the other accused involved in the incident, police said. The associate professor, Saitya Brata Das, had alleged that he was "attacked" by six-seven men near RK Puram Marg on January 14.

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A case was lodged at Vasant Kunj police station on the basis of a complaint from Das, who is attached to the Centre for English Studies in JNU. Narrating the incident to PTI, Das had said a motorcycle rammed into his car from behind at a traffic signal in RK Puram on the afternoon of January 14 and he was immediately surrounded by the six-seven men.

"I was coming from DPS, RK Puram on Palam Marg and had stopped at the red light at Vasant Vihar (under the flyover near the Vasant Vihar depot) around 3.20 pm. A motorcycle suddenly banged into my car from behind," he had told PTI. "I was shocked to see a motorcycle bang a car when the car was at a red light.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, six more people surrounded my car, asked me to get out of the vehicle and demanded money. I immediately recalled a fake accident involving my colleague in the JNU, Sharad Bhaviskar, a few months ago. "I did not wait for the signal to turn green and drove fast towards the JNU. I stopped only at the main gate to ask the security guards to call police," Das had said.

He had further alleged that the men followed him till the north gate of the university and surrounded his car again in the presence of the security guards. They kept kicking the car and threatened to set it on fire, the associate professor had alleged. He had also alleged that the men got his phone number from the JNU security guards and harassed him with threats and extortion demands.