IIT BHU, Banaras Hindu University discuss student safety; resolve not to create boundary wall

NEW DELHI: Banaras Hindu University and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) BHU organised a meeting on student security on campus after the recent case of molestation of a second-year IIT BHU engineering student early morning. Both the institute and the university decided to take measures on surveillance, CCTV coverage, and lighting on the roads.

The members of the meeting resolved not to create a boundary wall between the two educational institutions as suggested by many as they believed that it will not solve the problem and is not feasible. The institutes have also formed a joint committee of faculty members which would work towards safety of students. Hundreds of students protested near the IIT director's office following the incident.

“A joint meeting of BHU and IIT (BHU) administration was held on Nov 5, 2023 and discussed at length the comprehensive security concern of the entire BHU campus. During the meeting, that lasted for more than three hours, both the administrations agreed to strengthen security of the campus in a coordinated manner and expressed strong commitment to put all the efforts and resources to ensure the peaceful living of the entire campus,” said an official statement.

The meeting was attended by BHU vice-chancellor Sudhir Kumar Jain, IIT BHU director Pramod Kumar Jain and other top functionaries.

Security check, committee for students' safety

Among the measures, the institutes are taking help from Varanasi Smart City Limited for implementation of state-of-the-art CCTV surveillance system in the campus. The institutes promised proper lighting on the campus in the next two days.

“All the seven gates of the campus are being under strict check from 10 pm to 5 am to restrict the entry of anti-social elements,” the official statement added.

The IIT and the university said that both have women’s grievance cells and will work to strengthen them. They asked for more participation from students and said they will review GSCASH provisions within seven days for improvement of the cells’ functioning.

The joint committee is chaired by professor Royana Singh (Anatomy department, IMS) and co-chaired by professor Rajesh Kumar Upadhyaya (chemical engineering, IIT BHU).

About the boundary wall, the statement said: “It was unanimously agreed upon that in the current situation, in which many faculty buildings and other units/services such as hospital, sewage system, power/water supply, post office, roads leading to the campus, entry gates etc. are jointly shared, it is not feasible to isolate/divide the campus with a boundary wall.”

IIT BHU and BHU urged students to extend their cooperation and resolved to implement the measures in “full-force”.