After LPU, Chitkara incidents, Himachal plans joint security audits of university campuses

Each university will appoint a nodal security officer who will remain in constant contact with the respective district superintendent of police

Taking lessons from the violence at Lovely Professional University and Chitkara University in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh will conduct joint security audits of university campuses across the state and put in place protocols for handling emergencies.

A view of a vandalised room by students during a protest at Lovely Professional University (LPU), in Jalandhar. (ANI Video Grab)

This was decided during a meeting held by director general of police (DGP) Ashok Tewari on Monday with vice-chancellors and other senior representatives of 17 universities, including private institutions, in the state.

The primary objective was to further strengthen security within the campuses and establish regular and effective coordination between the police and university administrations to ensure the timely resolution of students’ issues, an official statement said.

The meeting was convened on directions from chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to review the security arrangements.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the police said coordination will be maintained with the police’s cybercrime and media cells to prevent the spread of rumours on social media during any incident. “Each university will designate an authorised spokesperson to ensure accurate information is made available in a timely manner,” the police said.

“Each university will appoint a nodal security officer who will remain in constant contact with the respective district superintendent of police. Joint security audits of university campuses and clear protocols for handling emergencies will also be developed,” the statement added.

During the meeting, presentations were made on recent incidents at LPU and Chitkara University.

“Drawing lessons from both incidents, it was decided that the measures would be taken to strengthen the monitoring of entry and exit points, verification of visitors, hostel security, and the police verification and regular training of private security personnel,” the police added.

It was also decided that universities and students would be encouraged to actively participate in the state-wide anti-Chitta campaign. Police and university administrations will work together to curb drug-related activities on the campuses and surrounding areas.

The DGP urged universities to actively support initiatives such as the traffic volunteer scheme, cyber security awareness programmes, the effective use of technology, and the chief minister’s public campaign against the drug menace. He also discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to formalise regular cooperation between universities and the police.