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Students at the university are protesting to demand better security after a student was harassed on campus.

After a 20-year-old student was allegedly molested on the IIT-BHU campus in Varanasi on Thursday, November 2., students of the university demonstrated in hundreds to protest against the lack of safety and adequate security measures.

According to the student’s complaint, the incident happened when she stepped out for a walk with her friend near her hostel at around 1:30 a.m. on Thursday. The two were ambushed by three men on a motorcycle, who then separated them and dragged the girl away. The men then forcibly kissed her, disrobed her, and took pictures and videos of her. She has stated that when she screamed for help, they threatened to kill her and secured her phone number before they let her go. An FIR was lodged against three unidentified people, and the police said they are conducting a probe and working jointly with the university administration to ensure safety on campus.

During the protests against this incident, students demanded that the administration take steps to restrict the entry of outside vehicles inside the campus, as it is suspected that people from outside the campus were involved in the harassment. In addition, they demanded better CCTV infrastructure and immediate legal action for such incidents.

According to the IIT-BHU Students’ Parliament, safety has always been a concern on campus, as this is not the first time such an incident has occurred. They claim that the administration has failed to take adequate action in the past. A similar incident shook up the university students in 2017, and another took place in February of this year.

The BHU Registrar has said in a statement that security has been tightened and more CCTVs will be installed on campus soon. The movement of students will also be restricted between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The institute also said it would hold meetings with the Ministry of Education to discuss the creation of a closed campus and the construction of new boundary walls. A report on the same is to be submitted within a week. The security of the institute will now be jointly monitored by the District Police and IIT-BHU personnel at all seven gates to ensure necessary action is taken in time.

Featured image source: NDTV

Arshiya Pathania
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The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad organised a protest at the Aryabhatta College on 21^st June, in order to express concerns regarding student safety and student welfare in the campus. The college administration received condemnation from the protestors for apathy and indifference towards student issues.

On the 21^st of June, the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised a protest at Aryabhatta College in the South Campus of the University of Delhi. The protest was reportedly organised in order to condemn the inability of the college administration to ensure student safety in and around the college campus. On 18^th June, a 19-year-old student named Nikhil Chauhan was allegedly stabbed to death outside the Aryabhatta College. The protestors blamed administrative negligence and poor security conditions around the college campus for the murder.

The protest, which was scheduled at 10:30, finally began at 11:30 and lasted for about 2 hours. The protestors reportedly bolted the college gates, not allowing students and faculty members to enter the campus. The protestors raised ‘vande mataram’ slogans and ‘bharat mata ki jai’ chants while asserting their demands.

The members of the ABVP made a list of demands that included – recruiting more female security guards, ensuring the availability of sanitary pad vending machines, renovating washrooms across the college campus etc. While some of the demands were specific and aimed at student welfare, other demands such as – “proper and strict action should be taken against incapable and abusive admin staff” were vague and incomprehensible. The protestors were mostly men and very few women were present at the site.

A student getting murdered right outside our college is a big deal. This could have been prevented. No action was taken by the admin staff even though they were aware of the fight between the victim and the accused that happened a week before the murder. The administration has been apathetic to student concerns. Students have to struggle for days even to solve minor issues. Our sports ground has been out of use for the past four months. We have made a list of demands addressing these concerns that we intend to place before the principal.” – Tarun Yadav, ABVP President for Aryabhatta College

The students, after staging the protest outside the college, marched inside the campus, raising slogans and vocalising their demands. The members of the ABVP expressed that they intend to place their demands in a meeting with the principal. There was tussle between the members of the admin and the protestors that resulted in chaos. Four representatives of the ABVP finally met with the principal and a meeting was held in order to discuss the concerns raised by the protestors. After the meeting, the members informed the protestors that almost all their demands had been readily accepted by the principal.

There was considerable police presence at the protest site. On being asked about how they feel about the deployment of police forces at the college, an ABVP representative stated that the police was present to help them carry out the protest without interference.

The police forces are not here to suppress our protest. They are here to ensure our security and to prevent any unwanted interference from other parties.” – Tarun Yadav, ABVP President for Aryabhatta College

Featured Image Credits – Pratik for DuBeat

Tulip Banerjee

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