The alleged rape of a student inside Anna University has left staff and students questioning the security measures on the campus. A section of them who The New Indian Express spoke to on Wednesday, December 25, said the campus has several CCTV cameras and security personnel, but they are hardly effective without a proper monitoring mechanism in place.
"The crime did not happen very late at night. Crimes cannot be prevented if there is no monitoring mechanism in place. Now, the cameras are of use only to see what happened in the aftermath of the incident," said a PhD student.
Sources said that over 400 cameras are installed at strategic points on the 180 acre campus.
"The university administration has spent a lot of money in installing face recognition attendance machines to ensure whether teachers are coming on time, but there is no strict system in place to restrict entry of outsiders," said a senior faculty member, pointing out that a Kotturpuram resident not connected to the campus has been arrested for the rape.
Notably, after a similar sexual assault incident was reported on the National INstitute of Technology (NIT) Tiruchy campus, the chief secretary conducted a special meeting with the heads of higher educational institutes in the state in September and asked them to conduct a security audit of their campuses and take adequate measures to prevent any form of sexual harassment, according to The New Indian Express report.
However, over a dozen faculty and students pointed out that no improvements were made in recent months. "If you come in a vehicle, the security may stop some at the gate on a random basis and check the purpose of visit, but those walking inside are hardly monitored," said a third-year student.
Faculty members alleged that absence of a vice-chancellor (VC) has led to inefficiencies in monitoring and review of security mechanisms. "The role of the VC is to ensure the all-round development of the institution. In his absence, only the regular administrative work is getting done," said another faculty member. The VC post has been lying vacant since August.
Anna University Registrar J Prakash, in a statement said, "Security personnel are always on duty on the university campus. Surveillance cameras are also installed. However, this unfortunate incident has taken place. Additional security measures will be taken at the university level to ensure that such incidents do not recur."
