DU issues advisory to tighten event security ahead of fest season

According to the new advisory, each campus has been asked to appoint a “dedicated liaison officer (LO) to coordinate with Delhi Police regarding all processions, protests, gatherings, functions, and events within the North Campus area, and one for the South Campus area.

Delhi University on Wednesday issued a detailed advisory to all its constituent colleges, hostels, centres and institutions to ensure the smooth and orderly conduct of events and gatherings ahead of the fest season.

The advisory directs colleges to issue detailed social media notices on event timing, entry passes, traffic arrangements, and entry and exit gates.

The move follows an earlier standard operating procedure (SOP) issued by the Delhi Police in compliance with Delhi High Court orders, as well as an advisory issued by the university’s proctor’s office in 2024 to heighten campus security, a university official said, requesting anonymity.

According to the new advisory, each campus has been asked to appoint a “dedicated liaison officer (LO) to coordinate with Delhi Police regarding all processions, protests, gatherings, functions, and events within the North Campus area, and one for the South Campus area.” Colleges, hostels and institutions organising specific events may also appoint an event-specific LO, who “must remain available at all times during the event and shall be responsible for sharing essential details with the local police, including the programme schedule, nature of the event, presence of VVIPs, expected gathering, entry modalities, event layout, hourly updates on attendance, and any other relevant information.”

All institutions must share event details with the local Station House Officer (SHO) at least 72 hours before the event and deploy sufficient volunteers to identify authorised students. “The sole responsibility for the conduct and management of events… rests with the respective college/institution,” the advisory clarified.

To be sure, during the Diwali fest in 2022, several male students who had been denied entry into the Miranda House during the Diwali fest had allegedly gatecrashed and harassed female students. Some students had also allegedly climbed the walls of the college to enter the premises without permission, following which the university has been taking precautionary measures to prevent further such incidents.

A similar incident had took place in 2023 when some men had barged into the Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW) by scaling its boundary walls and allegedly harassed students during the college’s annual festival. HT had reported during the incident that at least four students had been injured.