LSR shifts classes online after suspension following police encounter near back gate

LSR shifts classes online after suspension following police encounter near back gate

Lady Shri Ram College has shifted classes to online mode following the suspension of classes on Tuesday after a police encounter with an accused in the Kalkaji gang-rape case took place near its back gate. The incident has heightened concerns among students over their safety and drawn attention to security around the campus perimeter.

The Lady Shri Ram College for Women shifted its classes to online mode from Wednesday, following the suspension of all classes from noon on Tuesday after a police encounter with an accused in the Kalkaji gang-rape case took place near the college’s back gate, about 50 metres from the campus. The administration said the measure had been taken with the safety of students, faculty and staff in view.

Principal Ahuja told PTI, “After we got to know about the unfortunate incident, we cancelled classes. The safety, security and well-being of our students is of paramount importance to us. We have requested our faculty mentors and college counsellor to remain available for any support students may require.”

WHAT HAPPENED ON TUESDAY

The LSR college administration advised its students, teachers and members of the staff not to gather near the back gate. It said that it was in communication with the Delhi Police regarding security along the college perimeter. Guest faculty have also been asked to conduct their classes online on Wednesday.

The LSR Students' Union called an emergency online General Body Meeting for 9 pm on Tuesday.

In a statement, the union said that the nearness of the encounter to the college had left many students “shaken and unsafe”.

The meeting, the union said, would give students an opportunity to raise concerns, ask questions, share their experiences and discuss measures they wished to see adopted for the safety of the college.

The union said that it intended to approach the Principal's office formally with demands concerning security around the college perimeter. It also said that it wanted the college to be a “safe haven” and that safety should become a lived reality on the campus.

The meeting is to be held through Google Meet, with the link to be circulated through LSR Communities.

THE POLICE OPERATION

The accused, named by the police as Asif, was shot in the leg during an early-morning operation. Police said that he had opened fire upon a police party which had gone to apprehend him.

The encounter followed a police operation to arrest Asif, one of three men accused of allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl at Astha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir.

According to the police, the three men presented themselves as policemen and approached the girl and her 17-year-old male friend after the two entered the park on Monday evening.

The men allegedly told the two that they were minors and threatened to register a case against them. Police said that the men then separated the girl from her friend and took her to a secluded part of the park.

According to the police complaint, Asif allegedly threatened the girl with a firearm and a knife and sexually assaulted her. The other two accused also allegedly raped her, according to the complaint.

The girl was medically examined at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and a First Information Report was registered at Amar Colony police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Police said that Asif fired three rounds at a team led by Inspector Rajender Dagar when officers attempted to intercept him near DM Office Road in Amar Colony in the early hours of Tuesday.

The father of Hemant and Mukesh, advocate J R Dhankar, disputed the allegations against his sons.

Dhankar alleged that police took his sons from their house at about 7 am on Tuesday without explaining the reason for their detention.

“They were beaten up,” he alleged. “We do not know the girl and my sons have no connection with her either. This is a conspiracy to frame them in the case.”

Dhankar said that Hemant practises law at the Saket court in Delhi and that Mukesh is a final-year BSc Mathematics student.

The account given by the family could not independently establish the circumstances of the arrests.

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