This day last year, some third-year students of Korean Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University had just finished their first lecture and were in the middle of a break waiting for the next when around 11-30 a.m. a classmate of theirs, Akash, walked in casually. He was armed with a cleaver, a country-made pistol and a bottle of poison. He fired a few shots and as students scampered away in panic, he quickly went after a girl present in the room.
Within a few minutes, he had started hacking away at his classmate, Roshini, the object of his unrequited love for around two years. And almost immediately after, he cut himself with a knife and also consumed poison. He died. Roshini, who miraculously survived the attack, is now back at JNU.
“It was a very traumatic time for all of us; it took her seven to eight months to just recover and then be prepared to get back to college. We were all frightened to send her too, but none of us wanted her studies to be stopped,” said Sudheer, her brother talking from Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
His sister went through several surgeries to recover from the serious head injuries and there was a fear that she might lose her voice as the area around which she was injured was that which controls speech.
A month later, the victim was reported to be suffering from post-traumatic stress, which usually occurs after being exposed to either a life-threatening situation or sexual assault.
Those suffering from this usually have recurring flashbacks of the episode.
“She came back to campus some time ago, we have now made it compulsory to begin our under-graduate programme with an orientation session on gender sensitivity. We also have two permanent counsellors in the health centres where students can walk in at any time. The Gender Sensitisation Committee Against Sexual Harassment has also been very active during this one year,” said Vice-Chancellor S.K. Sopory.
Back on campus, Roshini keeps a low profile. She has changed her number and her brother said that she was not ready to talk about the episode to the public as yet.
“I have seen her around but I am not in touch with her now,” said former students' union president Sucheta De, adding that although several measures have been put in place after the “July 31, incident,” as the episode is now known, all recommendations that were made by the 10-member committee post the incident are yet to be fully implemented. Among other things, the panel had recommended setting up of a response team, a helpline and emergency centres.
