New Delhi, Mar 21 (TOI): JNU professor Atul Johri, accused of sexually harassing female students, was on Tuesday arrested by the Delhi Police, and later granted bail.

Johri's lawyer, RK Wadhva, termed the allegations a "political conspiracy".

"This was a political conspiracy and he was made a scapegoat. The children used to work with the professor. He had reprimanded them for their attendance and had asked them to attend classes. The students conspired to complain against him," he claimed.

At least nine women had lodged complaints against Johri from the School of Life Sciences, accusing him of sexual misconduct. The women had approached the Vasant Kunj (north) police station claiming that the professor would make explicit remarks on their clothes and touch them inappropriately while delivering lessons.

A case of molestation and outraging the modesty of women had been registered against Johri.

Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal criticised Delhi Police for their inaction and expressed her support for the victims.

The JNU Students Union, which had been agitating for the past three days demanding the professor's arrest, set off on a march to the Vasant Kunj Police Station yesterday evening.

A clash erupted between the agitating students and the cops outside the police station.

Social media, too, rallied around the call and #ArrestJohri was soon among the top trends on Twitter.
Speaking to a news agency on Thursday, Johri said that he was being targeted by Left-leaning students. "The girls who have levelled the allegations against me had received a mail from me on February 27 regarding their irregular attendance in the lab. So, they are targeting me," he claimed.

Responding to the charge, one of the complainants told TOI that the professor's allegations were "baseless".