Rights panel slaps notices on UP govt, BHU

NEW DELHI: Observing that Uttar Pradesh police should have acted sensibly in the Banaras Hindu University incident as the matter was related to the dignity of a woman, the National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the state chief secretary, director general of police and vice- chancellor of BHU.

The NHRC has taken suo motu cognisance of alleged inaction by authorities of the Banaras Hindu University into a complaint of eve-teasing and subsequent unwarranted manhandling and thrashing of agitating students, mostly women, by the UP police.

The commission has asked the state government, police chief and vice-chancellor to provide details of action taken against the miscreants and precautionary measures taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur in future.

It has observed that the incident is indicative of lapses on the part of the university authorities including the security guards, who instead of taking a quick action into the complaint of eve-teasing, allegedly, indulged in sarcastic comments towards the victim girl.

"The students were raising their protest towards the incident of eve-teasing and inaction by the security guards and in return, they were subjected to inhuman treatment by the police personnel, which amount to violation of human rights of the students," NHRC said in a statement. NHRC adds that "the university authorities should have acted sensibly as the matter related to the dignity of a woman", and "police authorities resorted to rather harsh steps than the situation, perhaps, warranted".

A girl student of the arts faculty in the BHU was, allegedly, subjected to eve-teasing by three men on a motorcycle, inside the university campus, as she was returning to her hostel around 6.20 pm on September 21.