Guru Randhawa’s gig at IIT Delhi fest called off due to unruly crowd
Rendezvous, the annual fest of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, was to witness concerts by singers Guru Randhawa and Sonu Nigam. These were cancelled last minute by the college authorities after some students turned violent with the security guards, to get access to the VIP areas. Some members of the organising committee were also at the receiving end of the scuffle that broke out.
Students of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT) Delhi were thrilled to attend Rendezvous, which is touted to be Asia’s largest cultural college fest. But enthusiasm became unbridled as some youngsters who wanted to attend singer Guru Randhawa’s performance on Saturday, created a ruckus that lead to the performance getting cancelled. Subsequently, singer Sonu Nigam’s concert on Sunday was also called off by the college authorities.
Some like Shifali Shivgotra, student of MA English at Kirori Mal College in Delhi University, had reached the venue at 4pm for the 8pm show, to grab the front row space at the concert. She said: “Guru ke liye khaana peena sab bhool gaye!”
But soon the festivities turned bitter and a crowd of more than 30,000 turned unruly. This was reportedly sparked after some attendees engaged in a scuffle, jumped over the barricades, fencing and even attempted to jump over the walls to reach the football grounds of the campus, where the stage was set up.
While most students were inside the ground, by 7pm, cheering for the opening act after waiting in the long queues, some latecomers picked up a fight with the college security guards and bouncers that were especially hired for the event when they were not allowed to enter. A second-year student of IIT Delhi, shared, “Several of my female friends told me how they were harassed by some outsiders. These people who created a nuisance were definitely not from IIT Delhi. These guys were passing lewd comments and misbehaving in general. This was a very unexpectedly rowdy crowd at Rendezvous, the fest, which is usually open for all students to get entry after registering and acquiring a pass. It’s so unfortunate that something like this happened on our campus.”
A final-year student of the college ran backstage to ask all the core team members to hide their ID cards, which granted access to the VIP and restricted areas. On the condition of anonymity, this student revealed that some attendees had resorted to violence upon not receiving entry into the said areas. “A few members of the core organising team were thrashed by some youngsters who wanted to get in and were not allowed by the guards who had sensed trouble. One of the security guards informed me that some of these youngsters were in an inebriated state.”
Confirming that several students and guards were injured in the commotion, a core team member from the organising committee said that they evacuated from the backstage upon seeing the crowd’s aggression, and added: “Our teachers and senior students escorted us away from the football ground, especially girls including myself. I went straight to my hostel room. We will have a meeting to discuss security measures later, but for now, everyone is extremely tense.”
Singer Guru Randhawa and his team were on campus until 9.30pm until the college authorities were forced to cancel his act analysing the severity of the situation. Thereafter, all the attendees were asked to evacuate the venue. Chetan Pahwa, a final-year student of BSc (Botany) at Hansraj College, Delhi University, expressed his disappointment as police personnel and guards cleared the ground: “The event was so hyped up, and we were all so excited. The registration process was so long. Now I feel like itni mehnat kyun hi ki maine! It feels like such a waste, honestly.”
The events of Saturday evening thus led to the cancellation of the finale on Sunday. Confirming the same, Megha Dharawat, a member of the organising committee, informed, “Sonu Nigam’s concert was to happen on the concluding night of the fest. It was cancelled as part of the security measures after all that happened on the preceding night.”
Author tweets @KritiKambiri