Gargi College students allege molestation by drunk men at annual fest

Delhi University’s Gargi College students have alleged that a large number of men “barged” into their campus and harassed them during their annual fest last week. The men entered the campus without passes and IDs around 3.30 pm on Thursday. The incident happened on the last day of the three-day-long fest, ‘Reverie’.

Some students alleged that the men were intoxicated and were smoking marijuana on the premises. They also took to social media to allege that their security had been compromised by the administration’s inaction. A student of the university told The Print that all students were given an extra pass through which they could bring a male member to the campus. She said, “Every hour, there was an influx of over 300 to 400 men through the gates. The security personnel didn’t try to stop them. Some of the men also tried to scale the walls of the campus to get in.”

“When the gates broke open, hordes of men entered breaking barricades. We saw fake passes being sold outside the college as well. A rally was going on outside and men jumped in from that rally as well,” an undergraduate student told Hindustan Times.

While another second-year undergraduate student said, “Colleges are not safe for women every year, during fests. Last year as well, many of my friends were harassed, but no action was taken against it. This year was worse. I’ve received countless experiences of women that were groped, felt up, catcalled, teased, masturbated at, stalked till the metro station and their PGs. The security of hundreds of women was in danger and I’m sure many of them would never want to attend such college fests again, myself included. The bouncers, the guards and the entire security detail did nothing to save the girls from the trauma they endured.”

Meanwhile, Gargi University principal told IANS, “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.”