‘Inaction over women safety’: Nirma varsity students hold ‘Black day’ protest

The students said that the matter was also taken up with the university administration, but no action has been taken, they alleged.

Students of Nirma University, a leading private university in Ahmedabad, staged a protest on Thursday accusing inaction of the authorities concerned after they filed complaints raising security issues they faced on the premises of the girls’ hostel.

The agitating students observed a ‘Black Day’ on Thursday to mark their protest against alleged inaction by the university administration on the complaint by girl students.

On Wednesday, a video was shared on social media platforms raising concerns about safety of female students on the campus. The video was purportedly recorded from Nirma University’s Girls Hostel H4. The video, recorded by the hostel residents, shows a worker present in the under-construction H5 building of the new girls hostel opposite H4 block engaging in inappropriate and objectionable behaviour towards female students. The students said they had reported this ‘obscene act’ to the female security staff. “Instead of taking action, the security staff had an advice for girl students: Do not wear shorts within the hostel premises,” they alleged.

The students said that the matter was also taken up with the university administration, but no action has been taken, they alleged.

Instead of taking action against the worker, a green net cloth was put up around the girls hotel, one of the students said, alleging “complete lack of accountability” by the administration.

To mark a protest, students, clad in black clothes, staged a dharna on the campus. Students said they are raising a serious issue and demanded that the administration take action against the accused “instead of policing the students.”

FIR filed

An FIR was lodged at the Sola police station based on a complaint by Jairam Karsan Desai, the institution’s Chief Security Officer, after the video of the man appeared on social media.

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Inspector K N Bhukan of the Sola Police station said the unknown person had been booked for indecent exposure under Sections 110 and 111 of the Gujarat Police Act and that efforts were underway to identify him.

Meanwhile, the National Students Union of India (NSUI) took up the issue demanding an immediate review of the entire security arrangements at H4 and H5 girls’ hostels and examination of the CCTV footage. “However, now the authorities have told the students that the issue will be addressed and resolved,” said a source.

Despite repeated attempts, the in-charge Director General of the university Rajesh Patel could not be reached for comment.Other charges

The students have also alleged that they have been “insulted by their faculty” too. A student told this newspaper that one of the professors called a girl an “attention seeker” when she was a few minutes late for the class and said that given an opportunity he will remove reservations for women in the country. Students said that they are deeply disappointed as these remarks are coming from faculty members in a college that “teaches and promotes women’s empowerment”.

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This is a second incident at Nirma University where students have raised concerns about their safety and respect over the last few days. Last week, H K Patel, a professor associated with the Electronics and Instrumentation (EI) course, allegedly grabbed a student by the collar and threatened him on the stage during an event of the department. After the video of that incident went viral on social media, the university had set a committee to probe the matter.