Bengal man arrested for molesting PhD student inside JNU campus

A 27-year-old man was arrested on Sunday for allegedly molesting a PhD student of Jawaharlal Nehru University inside the campus, police said.

The accused was drunk at the time of incident and has been identified as Akshay Dolai, they said.

A native of West Bengal, Dolai lived with his wife and children in south Delhi's Munirka and worked at a mobile repairing shop at Bikaji Cama Place.

The accused was identified and caught after the footage from more than a thousand CCTV cameras in and around the JNU campus was analysed, police said, adding Dolai was arrested while he was entering his rented house.

According to police, on the morning of January 17, the accused had a fight with his wife after which, she left for her maternal house.

An upset Dolai consumed alcohol in the evening and headed towards JNU on his scooter.

Upon reaching the university, he saw three women entering the campus and followed them with 'bad intentions'.

However, the trio went inside their hostels, police said.

After a while, he spotted the PhD student jogging inside the campus. When she reached an isolated spot, Dolai stopped and molested her.

As the woman resisted, a scuffle ensued in which Dolai sustained an injury on one of his legs. The student then took out her phone and threatened to inform the police. However, Dolai snatched the phone and escaped, they said.

A PCR call regarding a female student being molested inside JNU was received at the Vasant Kunj North Police Station at around 12.45 am on January 17, police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (southwest) Gaurav Sharma along with SHO Vasant Kunj North and staff rushed to spot.

"We checked the registers at the entry gates but found no entry related to the accused or his vehicle. It was difficult and the woman was also traumatised. We scanned over a thousand CCTVs in the area," he said.

The investigating team mapped the route taken by Dolai with the help of CCTVs in the area and found that he returned to Munirka, police said.

"After he left the campus, he went to Nelson Mandela Marg but saw police pickets and turned towards Ring Road. We have footage of his activities. We identified him and then arrested him from his house," Sharma said.

A case of outraging the modesty of a woman has been registered at Vasant Kunj North Police Station, police said.

Dolai's scooter along with the student's phone has been seized by police.