Kolkata: "You have nothing to fear. Come to college without any worry.
" The authorities of the law college in Kasba reached out to first-year students through the official WhatsApp group as admit card distribution for first-year students started on Monday for the first-semester examination, which is scheduled to begin on Wednesday. Card distribution will continue till Tuesday.
A first-year student was raped on the college campus on June 25. A notice by the college asked BA LLB and supplementary candidates to collect their admit cards on Monday and Tuesday between 9.30 am and 11.30 am.
TOI spoke to some first-year students who came to collect admit cards. They demanded justice for their classmate, who was also a first-year student and was gang-raped on the day she came to fill her examination form. Initially, the students tried to avoid media, citing that the matter was extremely sensitive. However, a few of them agreed to speak anonymously.
A first-year student said, "I am not afraid but I am shocked by the incident. This is quite a prominent location, so how did no one get any indication of what was happening on the campus? I know the girl but we hardly spoke to each other. As a woman, I want the girl to get proper justice so that such incidents never happen again, not only in this institution but anywhere else. Also, the accused should get the highest possible punishment.
"Another girl said, "My family became very scared after the incident. I came today only to collect my admit card. We have an official group where the college authority sent a message saying the college has tightened security arrangements and we can visit campus without any fear. If such arrangements stay forever, then it will be better for us. But I doubt if it will continue for long.
"Students had to show their identity cards to enter the campus and sign a register book for entry and exit. The notice also mentioned that admit cards would be issued only to the candidates, not to any family members or friends. Students were asked to vacate the college premises immediately after receiving their admit cards and not to create any chaos. They were not allowed to stay long on campus. A first-year student rued that if minimal security arrangements were in place, such an incident could have been avoided. Nayna Chatterji, vice-principal of the college, however, didn't make any statement regarding this.