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A 19-year-old student from the University of Delhi was allegedly stabbed to death outside of Aryabhatta College.

 

On Sunday, in front of Aryabhatta College in South Campus, a 19-year-old Delhi University student, named Nikhil Chauhan,  was allegedly stabbed to death. A week ago, one of the accused had allegedly harassed a woman friend of the victim, to which he had objected, said a senior police officer in conversation with The Hindu.

On Sunday, around 12:30 pm, the key accused and three of his accomplices met with Nikhil outside the College and stabbed him in the chest, the police stated. He was later rushed to the Charak Palika Hospital, where he was declared dead. CCTV footage has surfaced online, which, captured near the college, purportedly showed the accused escaping on scooters and a bike.

While talking to The Hindu, Nikhil’s father had this to say

We deserve justice, this is not what we send our children to school for.” He further stated, “I received a call at 12 p.m. that Nikhil has been injured, I rushed to the hospital, but by the time I reached, he passed away.”

The victim, who has been survived by his two brothers and parents who live in West Delhi’s Paschim Vihar, worked as a part-time model. His parents have said that he loved modelling and acting, taking part in many competitions in the city.

My son was also into modelling. He told me that he also wants to study political science to have vast knowledge about our country. He had a bright future. We don’t know what to do now,”

– said Mr Chauhan.

A case under IPC 302(murder) has been registered and an investigation is ongoing to apprehend the accused-who have been identified, the police have said.

“It is very unfortunate and sad that a young life has been lost and that also just outside the college where students come to learn and make career.”  said a Delhi University spokesperson in a statement to The Hindu.

 

Feature Image Source: DU Beat Archives

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Vanshika Ahuja

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One person was injured by a black sedan that rammed into pedestrians near the Old Gupta Colony in North Campus.

A speeding car ran over a crowd in Old Gupta Colony area in North Delhi on Sunday. The incident took place around 9 p.m. According to a source, a young man who was driving the car was harassing a woman. A group of people tried to stop the car and get him out, but he rammed the car into the crowd and fled.

A video recording the incident has been going viral on social media. It records the terrifying moment when the black sedan drove into a group of people. The car went a little ahead, and then reversed, hitting more people from the crowd. A few people also tried to stop the car by jumping over it. But the driver managed to flee.

An eye witness of the incident told DU Beat, “Around 9 p.m. in the night, I was walking towards Old Gupta Colony Chowk where I saw some guys slapping another guy and asking ‘teri himmat kaise hui haath lagane ki’ (How dare you touch her). Crowd had gathered there and I could infer that the guy had harassed a woman on the main road. I kept walking towards the market when I saw that the guy who was slapped had entered in his car, which was destroyed by the people with steel dustbins and other things. The car then went backward hitting some people and then it went forward in full speed.”

One man has been seriously injured in the incident. The victim, named Kamal Arora, has reportedly been admitted to a hospital nearby, and has a fractured leg. He has filed a case against the driver and he told police that there were two men inside the car.

“A case under Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Model Town police station on the statement of the injured person,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Vijayanta Arya, as quoted by PTI.

The driver has not been identified yet. The police have been examining CCTV footage of the nearby areas in order to identify and arrest him.

Old Gupta Colony is a hub of PG accommodations for students of the varsity. This absurd breach of security poses serious questions at the security of college students in the campus.

Feature Image Credits: Indiatimes

Priya Chauhan

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The discourse on rape of men has never shaped up in a society where irrespective of the sexes “consent” and “no” are considered redundant words.

Wikipedia defines rape as, “A type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without that person’s consent.” Notice the use of the word “person” that should naturally include women, men, transgender, and all other recognized or unrecognized genders. But unfortunately, the law of the land has devoid consideration of men as victims of rape crimes. In August 2014, 4 men in Muzzafarnagar, Uttar Pradesh were booked for sodomizing a 16-year-old boy in a government-run protection home. A year later, in April 2015 a Madarsa teacher was booked for attempting to sodomize a male student in the same town. We use the word sodomy (anal intercourse) instead of rape here, which no longer is a criminal offence after the Supreme Court amended the language of Section 377 of IPC in September 2018 to decriminalize same-sex relations.

It was a landmark decision that freed the LGBTQ community to come out of the closet without facing the fear of legal scrutiny.  But at the same time, it abridged adult men of their only legal remedy in case of forceful anal penetration. The rape laws in our country treat men only as perpetrators and not as victims. According to Section 375 of the IPC only a man can commit rape on a woman without her consent, or with consent but under the fear of death, or with consent but under false pretences. It makes no mention of rape as a crime against men and leaves section 377 to cover that.

“A huge contributor to the social stigma around male victims of sexual assault is the lack of a functioning legal framework for them to back on,” writes Mardaangi, an Instagram page with around 3000 likes that uploads stories and mentions of sexual assaults on men.

A 2nd-year law student at Delhi University, talking about the discriminative rape laws in our country, on a condition of anonymity says, “As a welfare state our laws are more concerned towards the upliftment of downtrodden section of the society. Women and children due to historic injustice have always been given special protection under the law.” He added, “Men, on the other hand, have always been considered to be the dominating members as they are mostly in the position of power.”

Lack of consent remains an indispensable factor that naturally should make cases of unwilling sodomy come within the ambit of rape. Despite that, not only the legal framework of our country but the social conditioning too makes it tremendously tough for men to report rape crimes and avail a timely justice. The common notion that men are not vulnerable and that they always crave for sex has diluted the conversation around rape of men. Friends, peers and even the authority will likely deride a male victim and label the incident redundant leaving him traumatized.

Rape laws in India have developed over time. The law whose genesis can be traced in Macaulay’s Indian Penal Code of 1860 got amended many times before reaching its current stage. Changes include the inclusion of custodial rape, which criminalized rape by a public servant in 1983 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013 followed by the Nirbhaya rape case. In 2012, The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act or POCSO was passed which made rape against a child under the age of 16 a criminal offence and laid provisions for the investigation of the crime in a manner that the child doesn’t get traumatized. This law is gender-neutral and treats male children as victims as well. A legal framework for the protection of adult males can be a next step in the evolution of rape laws.

Feature Image credit: themileage.org

Priyanshu

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In another violent crime at North Campus, a student was stabbed repeatedly; students plead for safety measures.

A student from the Delhi School of Economics (DSE) was attacked by unidentified phone snatchers on Sunday, 2nd December 2018. The incident took place late night, at the Naala Bridge at Patel Chest Institute, North Campus, University of Delhi (DU), which is in close vicinity of Maurice Nagar Police Station, New Delhi. A robbing attempt by bike ridden perpetrators escalated into violence, and the victim was stabbed in the back multiple times, with a knife. The victim, named Sandipan, is a 2nd year PhD student at DSE. Sandipan is currently admitted at Hindu Rao Hospital, Malka Ganj.

The police was informed about the incident and given the bike’s plate number belonging to the attackers. The perpetrators have not been found yet.

Patel Chest is the commercial centre of DU, residence to many students and is generally pervaded with students till late night. This makes it more prone to theft like violent crimes; reports of many armed robberies and attacks in the past stand proof of the same. Delhi University students have often been victims of violent crimes, and the inaction on behalf of the concerned authorities is problematic. Abhi Gyan, another student from DSE said, “The incident and police’s inaction is telling of how dangerous our own campus has become”.

Safety must be a top priority in areas inhabited by students. To urge the authorities to take corrective action and ensure their security in and around campus, the students of DSE organised a candle light march from DSE gates at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, 5th December 2018.

 

Feature Image Credits: Delhi School of Economics

Nikita Bhatia
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A beating of a BA Programme student took an ugly turn when the same student ended up embroiled in a double murder case.

Swami Shraddhanand College is a humble little education institution of the University of Delhi, located in the northwestern part of the capital. However, times have been harsh as a student from the college stands accused for the murder of two brothers in Haryana.

Every such killing is based on a motive. The motive, in this case, was the common pick, revenge. Apparently, 20-year-old Anshu who was pursuing a degree of BA Programme from the abovementioned college was beaten black and blue by the brothers in his native village. Apart from physical pain, Anshu also had to face the spite and laughs of the villagers. Residing in Sonepat, the police recently apprehended the murderer in Najafgarh.

For finishing off the two targeted “Haryanvi Gracchus brothers”, Anshu sought the help of five others, who were apprehended before by the Haryana Police. A 7.65 mm pistol was the weapon of choice for this coordinated attack.

The original target was Aashish who had first thrashed Anshu, inciting anger and revenge in him. Things took an unexpected turn when Aashish’s brother Himanshu jumped into the scene to protect him, which ended with both the brothers being shot to death at close range.

After a series of interrogations by the Dwarka Police, media received the statement that Anshu had turned to the dark side while studying in the presence of many anti-social elements in his milieu. This along with many such similar incidents of students being involved in heinous activities raises the concern for curbing hooliganism and associated evils, at least in campuses, where students come with the hope for flowing with the waves of success and not drowning in pools of blood.

Feature Image Credits: Swami Shraddhanand College

Shaurya Thapa

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With an increasing number of crimes in North Delhi, a question arises on the safety of the students.

On Sunday, 5th  August 2018, a dead body was recovered from a white bag in front of Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, University of Delhi. The body was discovered by the locals around 8 a.m. and they immediately informed the police. The head and the hands of the body were chopped off. According to the police, the body is unidentified but the man appears to be around 30 years old and the probe is underway. Delhi Police is also looking at the CCTV footage of the cameras installed in the area to identify the suspect and establish linkages related to the crime.

This incident was reported by India Today Social. You can watch the video here: https://youtu.be/ws4VlWK2bE0 .

The body was found in North Delhi, one of the posh areas of the city.It is  a strategic place with many college’s like Hindu College, Ramjas College and, Miranda House. Along with that North Campus is the hub of students all over Delhi primarily because the University’s main offices departments are located here. It is also to be noted that important buildings like the Delhi Assembly and the Red Fort and markets like Kamla Nagar are just a few kilometres away from this place. The number of murders, which are considered the prime indicators of crime situation in the city, witnessed a rise in the first quarter of 2018. A total of 130 murders were reported till 31st March 2018.All these factors raise a question about the security and create fear in the mind of the students.

DU Beat tried to reach out to the students and the teachers but, most of them seem to be ignorant towards the situation as of now. 

Image Credits: India Today Social

Anoushka Sharma

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On 29 May 2018, a transvestite person was stabbed to death by a group of Delhi men, after an altercation with the victim. One of the men accused is a student at the University of Delhi.

Commission of the crime

The accused spotted a woman in a black salwar suit and red chunni and tried to stop her. Once they realised that the person is not a woman, the victim was stabbed in the heart, face, and head with a swiss knife. The crime was committed at about 2 a.m. in the night. The men asked the victim about their mehendi, anklets, and the attire, which led to an altercation as the victim tried to escape.

“This incident reveals the nature of crimes that are carried out against trans femme people. If the victim would have been cis-gender, she possibly would have been raped. The accused probably felt ‘lied to’ in a way and proceeded to commit such a horrible crime.” Bhavya, a student expressed her grief.

Persons identified

“The teams analysed the data of missing persons and identified the [person] as 22-year-old Kalu, who lived near the temple in Kalkaji,” DCP (south-east) Chinmoy Biswal reported to Times of India. The investigation further surfaced that the deceased used to dress up like Goddess Kali on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

As far as the accused go, the police apprehended the accused, Naveen, a first-year student at Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, from Govindpuri area. Six others including three juveniles were also apprehended. The other accused that have been identified are Aman Singh, 20, Mohit, 25, and Sajal Maheshwari, 19. Aman and Sajal are delivery boys while others are school dropouts.

Ruth Chawngthu, co-founder of Nazariya: A Grassroots LGBT-Straight Alliance, brought to light “how much hyper-masculinity is ingrained in our society, to a point where any sign of femininity is seen as an invitation for assault and harassment.” Crimes against women and trans-femme people are being committed at an alarming rate in the country, with no strong judicial mechanism in place.

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Raabiya

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