Girl students of the Osmania University PG College in Secunderabad staged a protest on Saturday after three men broke into the hostel premises near Paradise Metro Station late on Friday night.
“I got a call at around 12.30 a.m. from the students on the first floor. They saw a hand waving from the washroom ventilator and were extremely scared. I immediately ran upstairs and informed the woman security guard,” Mounika, a second year Master of Social Work (MSW) student told The Hindu.
The hostel has only one woman security personnel for the night, while male security personnel are available only at the main gate, some distance away from the women’s hostel building.
“Just after that, another girl on the first floor screamed after seeing a man’s face from the washroom ventilator, while another in the garden saw a shadow of the man. That’s when we were sure there was a man inside,” she added.
Soon after that all the girls gathered, and saw two other men jumping out from the premises from the first floor.
One intruder was apprehended by the students and security personnel. “Together we caught hold of one of the intruders and tied him with our duppatas,” another hostel resident and second year M.A. in Public Administration student, Anusha added.
This comes less than a month after two unidentified men broke into Osmania University PhD Scholar’s women hostel.
The hostel began functioning only in November 2023 when the girls were promised that the premises would be made ‘fit and safe for stay’ within a month.
This protest was an attempt by students to bring it to the attention of Vice Chancellor D. Ravinder the issues faced by them in the hostel. The girls’ demands include having at least two female and one male security personnel on the hostel premises at night and installation of CCTV cameras. Further, the ventilators in the hostel washrooms are in a bad state.
“I know many ways to get into the hostel, I will come back,” the intruder warned the girls, informing them he had worked in the hostel for about two months. While the principal claimed the intruder was drunk, according to the girls, he was ‘fully conscious’ when caught and in fact continuously communicated with them.
The intruder left behind his cap and slippers.
Action being taken by OU
OU PG College Principal Ravi Kumar Jasti, told The Hindu that the college is taking immediate steps to address the security lapses reported by the student
“We are deploying additional security personnel in the hostel on the rear side, from where one of the intruders entered, along with trimming the branches of trees for better visibility,” he said. Repair work to install meshes on the open washroom ventilators had already begun at the time of reporting.
The intruder is in our custody and investigation is underway, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North Zone) Rohini Priyadarshini said.
