Delhi LG orders strict safety measures for DU women's colleges following crime

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu held a meeting with principals of Delhi University women's colleges on Wednesday to direct agencies to ensure student safety. The meeting included senior Delhi Police officers, the DU vice chancellor, and PWD and transport department officials.

Directives

Sandhu ordered the nomination of a dedicated nodal police officer for each college for prompt action on complaints like eve-teasing and obscene flashing, backed by plainclothes surveillance and an emergency response mechanism. Agencies must conduct safety audits around educational institutions, remove stationary buses creating isolated stretches, repair street lights, install high-mast lights, and clear overgrown vegetation and objectionable graffiti.

Campus Infrastructure

The LG directed the MCD to remove unauthorised encroachments, street vendors, men's public washrooms and taxi stands near college boundary walls, and relocate nearby MCD 'dhalaos'. Parks near campuses used for substance abuse must be secured, and footpaths kept obstruction-free. Additionally, the transport department will improve last-mile connectivity with shuttle services, U-Special buses, and Metro feeder buses, alongside regulated e-rickshaw and auto-rickshaw pick-up points.

Technology and Committees

Authorities will develop a student safety mobile application with emergency alerts, GPS-based location sharing, and real-time reporting. An inter-college women safety committee will be set up for north and south campus colleges. Prominent institutions like Lady Shri Ram College, Miranda House, and Gargi College attended the meeting.

Context

These directives follow a 17-year-old girl's gang rape in a park near the Kalkaji area of southeast Delhi. The measures involve multiple civic and law enforcement agencies coordinating to address infrastructure gaps and security concerns around educational institutions.