Delhi’s IP College students protest harassment at fest; 11 detained
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the police and the college administration, seeking an explanation for lapse in security during the festival. It also sought an action-taken report by April 3
A day after some men barged into Delhi University’s Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) by scaling its boundary walls and allegedly harassed students during the college’s annual festival, students on Wednesday protested inside the campus and the activists demonstrated outside, even as the Delhi Police were yet to arrest anyone in the case despite detaining 11 suspects.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) issued a notice to the police and the college administration, seeking an explanation for lapse in security during the festival. It also sought an action-taken report by April 3.
In the morning, a group of members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and Students’ Federation of India (SFI) staged an agitation outside the college until they were bundled in a police van and removed from the spot because the police had not given permission for protest. In the afternoon, students inside the campus formed a human chain and stopped the car of the college principal and some others.
“It was because of the mismanagement of the college authorities that our college mates were harassed and molested by outsiders,” said a second-year media student of the college, who asked not to be named.
Police said at least four students suffered injuries on Tuesday when a huge rush had gathered at the college gates to attend the festival. The event was open to all Delhi University students. Later, photos and videos of men purportedly scaling the college wall emerged on social media even as students alleged harassment by men on the campus.
However, despite allegations ranging from molestation to catcalling, and drunken behaviour by men to trespassing, no student came forward to lodge a complaint, the police said. “The first information report we registered on Tuesday was suo motu. We have appealed to students to help us identify anyone who have harassed them. Their cooperation will help us use CCTV footage effectively. We’ll keep the identities of the complainants secure,” said Sagar Singh Kalsi, deputy commissioner of police (north).
What happened on Tuesday
According to the police as well as students, there was an open invite to students from the National Capital Region (NCR) to attend the fest ‘Shruti’ if they registered for it and received a pass. Tuesday was the second and last day of the fest and singer Asees Kaur was to perform at the event. The DCP said that the college authorities had permission for the event, but as the norm in such fests, there was no police presence on the campus. “There were some police personnel outside the campus,” the DCP said.
The cut-off time for entry of attendees was 3pm, said Shambhavi Chaudhary, a second-year college student. “There were some 300 students inside the campus and another 200 waiting for entry,” she added.
It was a little after 3pm that a car believed to be bringing Kaur to the venue entered the gates. “Many students mobbed the car as part of fanfare. That created a kind of rush at the gates in which some students fell,” said the DCP.
Students, however, said it was a stampede. “Our girls were fallen on the road and men were running over them,” Chaudhary alleged.
The chaos compelled the college authorities to shut the gates on the waiting crowd outside. “Men outside pushed at the gates, but they couldn’t gain entry. It was then that some of them began scaling the college wall and a few others tried to scale the walls of the adjacent hostel. Some of them were making indecent remarks and raising slogans,” she alleged.
11 detained, none arrested
As the chaos and ruckus spread, the police sent a team. They picked up seven suspects from the spot and four more were detained in the subsequent hours. The detainees continue to be investigated for their role, but nobody has been arrested so far. “Investigation is in process. We are mounting human and technical surveillance. College authorities are also being requested to help in this regard. Culprits will be nabbed as soon as possible,” the DCP said in a statement.
But students alleged that a lot more drama unfolded inside the college. “There were drunk men molesting students and passing lewd remarks at them,” alleged the media student anonymously quoted above. The police said no student has approached them with such allegations.
Students said they also panicked due to rumours that quickly spread through word of mouth and on WhatsApp groups. “Some rumours claimed said that men stormed the hostels. Others said that college authorities conveyed that they wouldn’t be responsible for any student leaving the campus. It gave the impression that the authorities had lost control of the situation,” said a third student who didn’t want to be identified.
Repeated phone calls and texts sent to the college principal to seek her version of the events and response on the allegations went unanswered. The college didn’t allow HT access to the campus to meet authorities.
Whisked away from the agitation spot, the student protesters accused the police of “brutally dragging” them away. “Students protesting against harassment were harassed by Delhi Police,” tweeted Anjali, AISA’s Delhi University unit secretary and former IPCW student.
The police denied the allegations. “They were removed from there without the use of any force,” said the DCP.
Legislators blame LG
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on Wednesday targeted lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena over the alleged harassment of students at the college, and said the law-and-order situation was deteriorating in the capital.
AAP MLA Bhavna Gaur raised the issue of women safety in the capital in the light of Indraprastha College for Women incident.
AAP legislator Rajendra Pal Gautam demanded that the LG should step down if he cannot handle the law and order situation in Delhi. “The LG does not take action in matters which are related to him, but interferes in the work of the elected government,” Gautam said.
A third AAP lawmaker, Bandana Kumari claimed that the Delhi Police did not respond late to calls made by the students and demanded that Delhi Police commissioner should be summoned to the House. Her demands were backed by Chandni Chowk MLA Parlad Singh Sawhney.
The LG office did not comment on the allegations by the MLAs.
BJP MLA Vijender Gupta, however, claimed that the AAP government has done nothing to ensure safety of women. “The recent surge in alcoholism due to the government’s liquor policy has had a detrimental impact on women’s safety. Women find themselves increasingly vulnerable to harassment and violence in a society where alcohol consumption is on the rise,” Gupta said.