NEW DELHI: In a shocking development, students of Delhi University’s (DU) women-only Gargi College on Saturday alleged mass molestation by dozens of pro-CAA men.
According to several media reports, the alleged incident took place between 4 and 5 pm on February 6 when the drunken men, who were participating in a pro-CAA demonstration nearby, broke into the campus during Day 3 of the annual festival ‘Reverie’.
Mass molestation
Molested thrice in 10 mins
It has been reported that the students were groped and molested by a group of drunken intruders who were around 300-400 in number.
“Girls were groped, locked in washrooms, stalked to the nearby Green Park metro, cat-called, eve-teased and misbehaved with during the festival,” read the blog of one of the students of Gargi College.
The blog added: “The men were allegedly shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans that made us presume they had ‘Hindutva/BJP’ affiliation. We don’t know how true this is as those who witnessed the episode are scared to come forward.”
Girls recount horror
A second-year student of political science told IANS over the phone, on condition of anonymity, that “around 6:30 p.m. on February 6, the field was so massively crowded that there was no space to move. Two of my friends who were accompanying me, had held my hands so that I don’t get lost in the crowd as there is no cell reception on the field. Suddenly immense pressure came from behind and my hand got jerked off so I lost my friends for the next 10-15 minutes, and in those minutes, I was molested thrice.”
“I was groped thrice, somebody reached for inside my skirt and the problem was I couldn’t move out of it,” she said in a choked voice.
Exhibitionism
The student also claimed that the intoxicated men sexually harassed and reportedly masturbated at them.
“Somehow I struggled and moved out and ran towards the empty space behind the stalls. By that time, I had found my friends, they looked at me horrified, but they didn’t know what had happened to me as I didn’t want to talk about it. So they went to get water and would have been gone for just around 5 minutes, but in those five minutes I saw that a 30-35-year-old man began masturbating while looking at me, so I ran from there too,” she added, narrating her ordeal.
Lack of Security
Several students and alumni who witnessed the mayhem stated that there was a lapse in security.
The protesters break the gates and enter the college in the presence of the faculty.
“We will hold a discussion and stage a protest,” the student said.
Principal refutes allegation
Contacted by IANS, the principal, however, said: “We had a huge security arrangement, including police, bouncers and even commandos along with the teaching and non-teaching staff, on duty. No one came to us and reported any such incident. We were taking rounds in the crowd. However, there is no doubt that it was very crowded. We were very vigilant but we couldn’t see anything of this sort.”
“It is a serious incident and I will deliberate on it. It is a matter of serious concern, but unfortunately nobody has reported it to me,” she added.
Asked about the student’s allegation that she was not helped when she reported the matter, Kumar said: “This is a false allegation. One of the students did come to me, so I asked her to stay with me until the situation became normal, but she disappeared suddenly.”