VARANASI: Fearing that a hidden camera might be installed in their bathrooms, the girl students of Veer Bhadur Singh Purvanchal University, Jaunpur, assembled in front of the Vice Chancellor's residence on Monday night.
The students were receiving repeated obscene calls and threats from a phone number. The police were investigating the matter.
According to reports, the girl students caused a commotion at the Purvanchal University girls' hostel on Monday night. The students alleged that they were receiving repeated obscene calls and threats from the same number. They feared that a hidden camera might be installed in their bathrooms, causing panic among them.
The VBSPU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Vandana Singh, said that some girl students reported receiving phone calls from a certain number using inappropriate language. They suspected hidden cameras in their rooms and tried to check using a Google app.
“I immediately went there with police and administrative officials, and we stayed at the hostel late into the night. We checked the girls' toilets together, and I also checked from my residence using the app. The app was detecting Wi-Fi signals, which made the girls suspicious of cameras,” she said, adding that the police surveillance team also investigated and found no cameras. It was just a misunderstanding that scared the girls, but everything is resolved now.
She said that the police are investigating the number from which the calls were made. It showed as a Gorakhpur number, and the phone is under police surveillance. An FIR is being filed, and strict action will be taken against whoever made the call.
The circle officer Janpur Sadar, Parmanand Kushwaha, said that the police received information through the warden that some girls in the girls' hostel alleged that they were receiving calls since November 1. Some girls blocked the number. A police team promptly arrived at the scene, along with the surveillance team.
The girls expressed suspicion that there might be a camera in their room or bathroom because the boy knew their names and numbers. Subsequently, the team, along with the VC, checked all the rooms and bathrooms properly.
No such camera was found there. A case would be registered under appropriate sections based on information received from the college administration.
“Our surveillance team is working on it. We are investigating whose number it is and where it came from, and a revelation will be made soon,” said the CO.