New Delhi: The District Magistrate of Varanasi on Monday wrote to the Registrar of Benaras Hindu University (BHU) to take immediate steps to address safety concerns of female students.
This comes after protests over an alleged molestation case of a first year student at BHU turned violent with police resorting to lathi charge to disperse the crowd on September 23.
The DM has asked the BHU administration to constitute committees as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court guidelines to ensure safety of women in campus.
Apart from this, the DM also asked the university to ensure proper guard and security system on campus and increase the facilities available in hostels meant for girl students.
On September 23, while some miscreants tried to set fire on public property and pelted stones, police and paramilitary forces then allegedly beat up several protesters and marched onto the campus.
Several videos have surfaced showing male police personnel and PAC officers brutally beating up girls and barging into the girls’ hostel. Media personnel covering the event were also caught in the clashes.
The students who have been protesting over two days, refused to lift their dharna near the front gate, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting the city and was supposed to pass by the prestigious university.
The girls wanted to draw his attention to the persistent problem at BHU, of lack of security, sexual harassment inside the campus and ‘victim shaming’.
As soon as the news of lathicharge spread on Saturday night, students from other hostels also joined in and the situation went out of control. The protesters took to stone pelting and arson on the campus.
The female students alleged that the police thrashed and pulled them by their hair, even as the Varanasi district magistrate, who was present on the spot, denied the claims.
Comments
0 comment