Teachers' groups in Delhi University are feeling unsafe in the absence of action against DU Students' Union (DUSU) joint secretary and ABVP member Deepika Jha for slapping a college professor over a week ago.

Prof Sujit Kumar and a few other teachers of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College were allegedly insulted and assaulted by Jha and other ABVP members on October 16, before the college could take disciplinary action against some ABVP students in a vandalism case.

The Democratic Teachers' Front, Indian National Teachers Congress (INTEC), Democratic Teachers' Initiative, Rashtriya Shiksha Morcha and Samajwadi Shikshak Manch have appealed to the DU Teachers' Association to hold a general body meeting to decide the future course of action and pressure the university and the college to take strong action against the errant students.

The university has set up a committee to investigate the incident and submit a report in two weeks, but there is no clarity on the filing of an FIR against the accused.

"Violence against teachers (and non-teaching staff) calls for strict disciplinary action. After this violent act, the DUSU president and DUSU joint secretary have been maligning the teacher's image through the news and social media. This is unacceptable," the groups said in a statement.

"A strict disciplinary action is important to maintain an environment where students and employees feel safe and can function. We also appeal to our students to stand against this violence," the statement added.

Pankaj Garg, a faculty member of Rajdhani College and president of INTEC, said teachers would not feel safe until action was taken against the accused. "Some exemplary action must be taken soon," Garg said.