Tag

RLA

Browsing

On March 7, 2024, a bomb threat call was received by Delhi University’s Ram Lal Anand College on Thursday, ANI reported. After receiving an alleged call around 9:34 am on Thursday, authorities swiftly responded, deploying the police, ambulance services, as well as Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS) and Bomb Disposal Teams (BDT) to the college premises.

In a video released by ANI, DCP South West Rohit Meena said that following the evacuation, the teams conducted a thorough search of the entire college campus. However, no trace of the bomb was found.

“We thoroughly searched the whole college campus after evacuating the campus. There was no trace of the bomb. Whoever has made that call, we are investigating it,” Meena told ANI.

As per the Hindustan Times report, another police officer told PTI that the call was made from an international number.

“It is suspected that some mischievous element made the call from an international number,” the officer said, adding that the police might register an FIR in the matter.

The officer said searches were conducted across the campus for at least three hours, after which the police declared the call a hoax.

In an interview with DU Beat, Gaurab Paswan, a student from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College who was participating in a competition at Ram Lal Anand College, remarked on the calm and composed atmosphere amidst the unfolding events. He recounted,

“Around 9:30, as the competition was about to begin in the amphitheatre, a faculty member instructed us to evacuate and assemble on the front lawn. There was no sense of panic; we were simply directed to exit our place. Initially, we were advised to stay on campus and remain calm, but later, we were instructed to leave. As a result, our competition has been rescheduled.”

In an interview with India Daily, Mansvi Bangarh, president of the Ram Lal Anand College Student Union, stressed the immediate action taken by the college while also highlighting safety concerns. He remarked, “A mechanism for tackling misinformation needs to be developed.

Addressing security issues, he suggested,

“The college needs to install metal detectors at the gate and would also need a female security guard to make the security arrangements better.”

Continuing, he expressed his appreciation for the swift response by college authorities, stating,

“It was appreciable to see the college take the right action as soon as possible. Within time, police, fire brigade teams, and bomb squad teams were called to the campus.”

As per the News18 reports, the college principal, Rakesh Kumar Gupta, stated that regular office operations resumed once the police completed their search and confirmed the campus’s safety. “A staff member received a bomb threat via WhatsApp call on the number designated for broadcasting messages to students. We promptly alerted the police, and both students and staff were safely evacuated,” Gupta informed PTI. “The situation is now under control,” he added. “Office work has resumed, but classes remain suspended, and students have been instructed to vacate the campus.”

 

Read Also: SSCBS Staff Protest: Salaries Not Paid Since the Past Three Months

Featured Image Credits: Ram Lal Anand College Website

Dhairya Chhabra

[email protected]

 

With DUSU elections looming around the corner, students from various colleges of the University of Delhi have pledged to not vote for any party that partakes in the littering or vandalising of its college premises.
An unnamed notice at Ram Lal Anand College campus read, “We the voters of Ram Lal Anand College pledge to not vote for any candidate or a party whose supporters are found defacing or damaging the property of our college.” Similar notices from colleges like Kirori Mal College and Rajdhani College have begun doing the rounds in social media, and petitions which condemn wastage of paper are being signed. According to Vaibhav Bansal, a 3rd-year Political Science(H) student at Rajdhani College, “We are not planning on boycotting elections, we just demand a cleaner and violence-free campus. If a record of the campaigners could be maintained at the college gate and their number limited to 5, there won’t be as many problems. It’s our campus that is being defaced, not theirs.”
Akankshya Mohanty, a second-year Statistics(H) student at Ram Lal Anand College feels that the situation at her college is grim and severe. She said, “College just got renovated and many processes are underway as well. These campaigners are causing just too much destruction, with flyers and posters everywhere in and around the college.” She went on to describe her first-hand account of campaigners involved in a scuffle with the police at her college, and how quickly the fight turned violent.
A complete boycott is extremely far-fetched, but this new initiative to deter campaigners from defacing college property is gaining huge traction. Hopefully, more colleges will jump on the bandwagon and challenge authorities to take action against the wrongdoers.
Image Credits: RLA.in
Vijeata Balani
[email protected]

The Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)  is stunned by a ruthless move of the Delhi University Administration to evict one of its teachers suffering from severe orthopaedic disability, from the University accommodation that had earlier been provided to him in view of his disability. Wheelchair- bound G N Saibaba is an assistant Professor of English at Ram Lal Anand College, and has 90 per cent disability due to polio.

Saibaba and his family has been staying at DU’s Gwyer Hall Hostel for the last five years, where he was temporarily accommodated by the then VC Deepak Pental with a promise of a permanent accommodation in the future, which the university failed to deliver. Saibaba was informed by the Estate Officer vide orders dated December 21 and 26, 2012 that the eviction proceedings against him have been initiated under Section 4 of the Public Premises (EUO) Act, 1971.

In a subsequent meeting, where Saibaba called for a personal hearing with the said officer on January 7, 2013, he was told that the proceedings have been completed and that he would be evicted. Saibaba was further served with notices asking him to vacate his premises within two weeks, failing which they shall force him out onto the streets. Finding it harsh to expect him to vacate the said premises without arranging for an alternative accommodation with wheelchair access for him, DUTA has sent a letter to the VC to have a more humane approach to Dr. Saibaba’s situation.

“DUTA showed strong resistance to this hard-hearted and irresponsible gesture of the University administration and insisted that it is obliged to provide Dr. Saibaba with suitable accommodation to ensure that his dignity and sense of security are not compromised. Till such an alternate accommodation is not provided, the DUTA stands by Dr. Saibaba and appeals that he be not forcefully removed from his present place of stay,“ said  Amar Deo Sharma, president of DUTA.

This exposes the hollowness of the DU administration’s tall claims that it is sensitive to thespecial requirements of its differently-abled teachers and students on the campus. Indeed,for a long time hundreds of disabled teachers and students have been agitating for theirrights to an accessible campus, study material and residential accommodation, which remainunfulfilled to this day.

The teachers of Delhi University demand that instead of taking a narrow and high handed approach, the University administration must channelize its efforts towards finding a suitable residential accommodation, and allow Dr. G. N. Saibaba to live in his present residence till that time.