'Molested us, masturbated at us': Gargi College students say drunken men barged into campus during annual fest; to strike today

Several students of Gargi College, a premier all-women institute in Delhi, alleged that a large group of men barged into their campus on Thursday and molested them during an annual fest. The incident, the students say, occurred a few days ago during day 3 of the annual festival ‘Reverie’. A group of drunken men reportedly entered the college affiliated to Delhi University, and harassed the students. “Girls were groped, locked in washrooms, stalked to the nearby Green Park metro, cat-called, eve-teased and misbehaved with during the festival,” one student put up on a blog. [caption id=“attachment_8022991” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of the Gargi College campus. Image courtesy: gargicollege.in[/caption] The blog added: “The men were allegedly shouting ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans that made us presume they had ‘Hindutva/BJP’ affiliation. We don’t know how true this is as those who witnessed the episode are scared to come forward.” The students have planned a protest in the college on Monday. Many students on the page, ‘speakupgargi’, blamed the college union and the administration for “failing” to protect students and even demanded the resignation of the principal. India Today has quoted a student of the college as saying in a social media post, “There were drunk, middle-aged men harassing us, molesting us and masturbating at us… I was groped thrice by a group of men inside that crowd and when I screamed they laughed…” The Indian Express quoted Sundaram Thakur, president of the students’ union, as saying each student was given a pass so that they could bring a companion, male or female. “However, a huge crowd gathered at the gate that evening. They began pushing in such a way the gate broke… Over 200 outsiders broke into the college without passes,” she said. The report quoted acting principal Promila Kumar as saying that no complaint has been filed. She also said that there was an area in the campus that was only meant for female students and added, “If they were outside that, it was their personal choice.” The police also said they have not received any PCR or other complaint in the matter either from the students or the college authorities. Responding to the incident, the All India Mahila Congress said on Twitter:

This cycle of violence and molestation of girls by a right winged group is becoming far too common.
The worst offenders of a religion are usually the ones screaming God's name during violence#GargiCollege https://t.co/ltFsyfyuFX

— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) February 9, 2020

With inputs from PTI