India: Chaos at Delhi's Miranda House college event, police lodge FIR against ‘unknown students’

An incident that took place on Friday in India’s capital city, Delhi, at a women’s college has sparked outrage as men were allegedly scaling walls and entering campus during an annual Diwali event. This was followed by what reports have described as chaos as the group of male students started raising slogans and demanded to be let into the campus after the gates were closed.

Reportedly, within one hour of the fest’s beginning upon realising that it could not contain any more people, the gates to the campus had been closed and attendees were asked to move out. However, several men allegedly jumped over the walls and closed gates in the presence of security.

One of the videos posted by a student shows how men were climbing the wall and entering the college but also allegedly engaged in “Cat-calling, groping, sexist sloganeering and more”.

Statement by the college’s student society

After the incident, the student society on the campus released a statement, “Many attendees of the fest, primarily men, went entirely out of control at this move and reacted aggressively when the administration prevented them from being on campus. They entered restricted premises like classrooms, ignored the requests of professors and staff, responded rudely to appeals to behave and invaded the students' personal space.”

The statement also condemned this abuse of power and “men whose entitlement terrorised an entire campus”. It also said how students faced harassment, catcalling, and inappropriate advances (mostly by men). “Some shouted out undignified assertions where they saw women as objects to be conquered. That, accompanied by the horrifying visuals of men climbing over gates and wall, trying (and succeeding) to enter college premises, made students feel unsafe and stifled on their campus.”

The group of male students also attempted to vandalise the property, shouted in the corridors and slammed classroom doors, said the statement. The statement also acknowledged that while the students believe that men and other perpetrators should be held accountable for their actions, the organisation committee owes an explanation to students and the college saying, “Their lack of foresight, inability to control the damage, and complete absence as chaos unfolded are inexcusable."

No reports of sexual harassment: Miranda College principal

On Monday, Miranda College principal, professor Bijayalaxmi Nanda addressing the event said that due to the excess crowd they were forced to close the gates after which some people tried to enter. She added that subsequently, the matter was flagged and safety measures were in place.

“The Diwali Mela is organised by the NSS (National Service Scheme) in the college every year, but it is never very big. We had taken precautions and there were police personnel but no one had anticipated or prepared for such a large number of students gathering for it.” She added, “We tried to contain it with the guards closing the gates of the college and we called off the mela when the situation got out of control.”

Nanda also indicated that “So far we have not received any complaints of sexual harassment. Police have been informed and they are checking all CCTV footage.” Furthermore, the college is having discussions with all stakeholders about limiting the entry for up to 100 participants and only allowing those who have registered prior for future public events, said the principal.

Delhi Police’s response to the incident

On Monday, the Delhi police reportedly registered FIRs against “unknown students” who allegedly jumped over walls and gates to enter the campus. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Sagar Singh Kalsi said they have taken suo moto cognizance and have booked several unknown people for trespassing based on the videos.

Meanwhile, the university’s Proctor’s office has also filed a complaint and the college will also file a separate FIR in the matter after reviewing its CCTV footage, said the college principal to the local media.

Additionally, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) also issued a notice to the Delhi police saying that they have taken “suo-moto cognizance of an incident of sexual harassment with girls inside Miranda House College, University of Delhi.” They further asked the Delhi police to provide a copy of the FIRs registered, arrests made, a detailed action report and so on.

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE