[IE] Cops get cracking on ragging, 65 held

Link to report

Neeraj Chauhan

New Delhi, June 15: As the admission process is on in full swing at Delhi University, it’s not just the students who are sweating it out. Delhi Police, following the Supreme Court’s order on ragging and making girls feel safe, this time has launched its anti-ragging campaign in advance.

Till Friday, the last day for filling admission forms in Delhi University, police detained more than 65 outsiders “who had nothing to do with admissions”. Also, pamphlets were distributed among girls detailing some do’s and don’ts while on campus to avoid harassment.

In the past three weeks, around 15,000 students visited North Campus everyday, accompanied by friends or family members. Apart from seven inspectors from different police stations, North District police have deployed around 150 policemen and two platoons of women officers of CRPF. “We held several meetings with the DU Vice-Chancellor, Proctor, college authorities, student organisations and volunteers who sensitised girls along with our men. Any suspected activity or misbehaviour was checked by our officers and no teasing cases were reported,” said Devesh Srivastav, DCP, North district.

“Sixty-five outsiders were taken custody. Some of them were accompanying students while others came here for fun,” said a senior police officer. The police distributed around 8,000 pamphlets among students and placed signboards mentioning some guidelines for the offenders and students. Policemen were also deployed around hostels.

The pamphlets distributed with the help of student organisations mentioned slogans like “ragging is an evil in educational institutes, it’s against humanity and it hurts the sentiments of new-comers”. Banners warning the offenders were also put up. The police mentioned its helpline numbers, 1091 and 100, in bold letters everywhere.

“I was surprised to see so many policemen in university area, but I felt safe as well,” said Sandhya Sharma, an aspirant. The police say that their campaign would continue in coming days when the students rush for interviews.

The Supreme Court recently ordered educational institutions to constitute special anti-ragging committees and squads at the institutional level to check the menace.