Mob violence at a private university in Punjab is a damning indictment of the functioning of multiple agencies. The student body, comprising largely female residential scholars, was let down by both the university administration and local police authorities.
Officials claimed that there was no evidence of sexual assault of a student in a hostel room by an outsider, but a severe trust deficit meant they could not quash what they termed “social media rumours”. Neither could the police reach the campus on time to quell vandalism and arson.
While police have registered an FIR against an unidentified person and formed a special team to investigate the incident, they are yet to verify and confirm basic facts, let alone establish the truth. Even media reports lacked clarity on several aspects.
According to media reports, initial student protests began in the early hours of Sunday on campus, demanding a prompt investigation and action. However, it remains unclear how the situation spiralled out of control into violence, and what the university administration and local police were doing while trouble brewed. After a couple of hours, protesting students moved outside the campus and blocked the nearby Delhi-Amritsar highway.
By evening, the situation had deteriorated further, prompting police to resort to a lathicharge to disperse protestors. Things came to such a pass that police reportedly conducted a flag march inside the campus to restore order. The university authorities eventually suspended classes for ten days and announced the postponement of mid-term examinations.
First, when trouble was brewing, university authorities failed to intervene promptly. Second, both university officials and local police failed to verify facts or engage effectively with angry protestors to avert police action. In an age dominated by digital surveillance, ubiquitous CCTV footage, and advanced digital forensic tools, the police appear to be struggling to make any significant headway in the investigation.
The violence reflects a deeper malaise within the private university ecosystem, highlighting a distinct lack of accountability and the absence of required external monitoring. Students routinely accuse authorities of hushing up misdeeds. In crucial areas like the safety of women students and mental health well-being, these institutions maintain a poor track record. Many of these entities are owned and managed by influential persons, either politicians or those with considerable political connections and clout. In the present instance, the university belongs to a BJP Rajya Sabha member who recently defected from AAP, which is the ruling party in Punjab.
To restrain the rampant commercialisation of higher education, a recent Supreme Court order stated that private universities shall not be allowed to run as for-profit organisations.
Further, it directed all state governments to collect audited financial reports for the last five years with complete details of funds generated and utilised.
Besides details relating to academic administration, the order also sought information on mechanisms for grievance redressal and complaints received during the past three years.
The New Education Policy of the BJP-led central government has been widely criticised for giving a fillip to the privatisation of higher education.
Certain institutions misuse the framework of institutional autonomy to turn these hallowed citadels of learning into opaque fiefdoms, leaving behind a poor record on student safety and mental well-being.