Girish Chandra Tripathi, the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) who is under fire after the police lathi-charged the students who were raising the issue of harassment has said that the University cannot assign a guard to every student.
Girish Chandra Tripathi, the Vice Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) who is under fire after the police lathi-charged the students who were raising the issue of harassment has said that the University cannot assign a guard to every student.
Student protests rocked the BHU campus following an alleged incident of sexual harassment on Thursday night. The police action took place on Saturday night after the protesting students wanted to meet the vice-chancellor at his residence.
"Things happen on campus, you cannot stop these things. This time, the matter has been taken out of context because of outsiders. Outsiders, including political parties, have created a negative situation to destroy peace on campus," said Tripathi speaking to DNA.
Tripathi said that the issue students were protesting is not an incident of molestation, but of eve-teasing.
"I am doing my best, the university is doing its best to ensure women’s safety on the campus. We are arranging for streetlights and deploying more guards," he told Indian Express.
Though the students have alleged that the VC did not come to meet them, Tripathi said, "I had agreed to go to the MMV (Mahila Maha Vidyalaya). But these criminal elements began throwing petrol bombs and stones. How could I have gone?."
"This is such a big campus, anything can happen anywhere. We cannot assign a guard to every student," he said.
The vice-chancellor said that if they listen to every demand of every girl, they won’t be able to run the university. "All these rules are for their safety, all in favor of the girl students."
He also said that there is no such written order issued to empty hostels. "This was also one of the many rumours spread."
Scores of activists belonging to women's groups and student organisations on Monday protested the lathi-charge on women students.
Meanwhile, a four-member committee has been set up by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik to probe the incident.
The committee will be headed by under Chief Secretary. The committee will probe the excesses committed by the police and the also the allegations that external elements were also supporting the protest.
Following the violence, the district administration declared holidays from Monday till October 2 in all colleges and universities in Varanasi. The BHU had earlier announced that the holidays would start from September 28.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for police action against students.
"The incident at BHU is BJP's version of `Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao'. And, when they (girls) demand their rights, beat them up. This incident happened in the PM's constituency. Modiji should apologise to the students of BHU and take immediate action," Gandhi told reporters in Gujarat.
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