Two held for kidnapping, assaulting JNU professor in Delhi

While victim claims he was assaulted for belonging to JNU, the police have denied any such motive

June 22, 2022 05:18 am | Updated 05:18 am IST - New Delhi

Sharad Baviskar, JNU’s professor who was abducted and assaulted in Delhi.

Sharad Baviskar, JNU’s professor who was abducted and assaulted in Delhi. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Days after a JNU professor was allegedly kidnapped, assaulted and robbed in west Delhi's Naraina, the Delhi police have arrested two persons in connection with the incident, officers said on Tuesday.

DCP (West) Ghanshyam Bansal said that on the intervening night of June 17 and 18, the complainant, Sharad Baviskar, an assistant professor at JNU, was returning in his car to the JNU campus after dropping his wife and daughter at his in-laws’ house in Burari.

At around 12:30 am, when Prof. Baviskar reached near the Naraina flyover, he noticed that someone was hitting his car on the left side but continued driving. When he stopped at the next traffic signal near Delhi Cantt. metro station, a few men suddenly came and accosted him, the DCP added.

“They forcibly took his car keys and pushed him into their car,” Mr. Bansal said, adding that the accused went to several places such as Moolchand, Greater Kailash and Ashram before taking Mr. Baviskar to “a house at an unknown place”.

According to police, after reaching the house, the accused forcibly took the victim’s credit and debit cards and withdrew more than ₹30,000 from them. They then left Mr. Baviskar near a petrol pump along with his car.

Facebook post

Mr. Baviskar in a Facebook post had alleged that he was kidnapped and subsequently assaulted by the accused persons after a road rage incident. He had further claimed that the accused had manhandled him as he belonged to JNU. The police, however, have denied any such motive.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers’ Association (JNUTA), in an official statement, had condemned the incident and appealed to police to take cognisance of the matter at the earliest.

The accused have been identified as Rajat Pal Singh, a resident of Tagore Garden who police claimed was a singer and Aashish Shokin, who used to deal in sale and purchase of luxury cars.

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