Manipal: On June 20, 2013, a 22-year-old student of medicine was allegedly abducted near to her college in Manipal and gang raped by three men. The incident occurred when the victim, a fourth year MBBS student, was walking to her apartment from the university library. The perpetrators were caught, and the case is in progress. On Monday, 2nd February, 20-year-old T Punith Reddy, a student of MIT died, after he fell from the fourth floor of an apartment. Though his father stated in his complaint that his son might have been pushed by other students, police sources had said that Punith was inebriated and jumped off the balcony.
Annamalai, the Udupi Superintendent of Police, had said, then, “Drug addiction among students has been increasing day by day, drug activities are going on in some private hostels and apartments. If it continues any longer, the department will take quick action and owner of that particular building will be held accountable.”
He then ordered closure of all bars and wine shops in Udupi district before 11:30 pm, while hotels were allowed to stay open upto midnight. He warned that stern action would be taken against violators and with that order, two-years down the line from the first widely publicised incident, –the night life of the town has come to a standstill.
The 24×7 town has been silenced, and this has become even more noticeable over the last few days after the police has clamped down hard on the night life. While the town has been made more secure, the students say that that they are still living under threat.
“The tighter security had to come sooner, rather than later”, says Udupi Superintendent of Police K Annamalai. “The eateries and the food joints had been given a notice long back to close their outlets at 11.30 pm. Now it is being monitored strictly.”
“Any person walking around after 12.30 am is being questioned and not allowed to just stroll around, as the number of drug cases has been rising in the vicinity”, he added.
Annamalai said the increase of drug use around the locality, drunken driving cases, and other such irregularities were bound to put an end to the nightlife of the town. “It has come to a point when intervention was required at a stricter level, especially, as around 50% of people or more in Manipal at night are outsiders and not students,” he noted.
However, an MBBS student of Manipal university speaking to News Karnataka.com, on condition of anonymity said “The Manipal Police have been stopping students walking, or on bikes and beating them without any provocation. The police do not ask for students’ ID cards neither do they ask any question as to where the student has been, or is going; they just start hitting”, he said.
“Students are afraid of walking around. It is very unpatriotic and uncivilized for the police to catch students and beat them with sticks without questioning”, the MBBS student claimed.
The student has also written a letter to Newskarnataka.com that states, “Over the past week, the police have beaten over 13 students walking on the streets from their or to their friends apartment after 11:30pm.” His claim was corroborated by a few other students, who claimed that police have started beating students who stroll in the night due to which coming back to the apartments late at night from a movie or from group studies has become difficult.
When these assertions of students, were put to the SP, he denied the same and said, “Please get your facts right, we do not hit students for no reason. There are several irregularities. As a citizen one is free to go anywhere at any time. A student has to identify himself and give reason what business he/she has being out at that time.”
Annamalai continued, “Even then, if such acts are happening, let those students come and complain to me and I assure I will suspend that policemen”.
However, the student did admit, that here is a drug mafia operating on the campus and several deaths have also been reported in the recent months. He said, “We commend the vigilance and the strict action of the police personnel. Our only grouse is about the way genuine students, who are going about their work sincerely, are being treated in the guise of law enforcement.”
But rather than complaining, most of the students have opted to keep quiet. An MBBS student in his final year said, “I am just going to finish and flee. I do not want my career to be spoilt”. Sources within the student community, however say that on the whole the student community is pleased with the decision of the SP to crack down on the night life in the town, but allege that the subordinates are treating students as criminals.
Meanwhile, University officials headed by Vice Chancellor, Dr K Ramnarayan along with the Registrar, Dr G.K Prabhu, Director Student Affairs, Dr Suma Nair, all the Heads of Institutions and their deputies, chief wardens and wardens and all student council presidents and secretaries attended a joint meeting organized by Manipal University and Udupi police. They discussed over the improved security and safety measures to be taken in the city.
During the meeting Annamalai shared some of the experiences that the police have encountered and assured that in the next couple of months, Manipal would be a much safer place. He listened to the concerns of the student representatives and the university officials and assured relief at the earliest.
With more bars, lounges and pubs per square kilometer than any other town or city in the coastal region, Manipal’s vibrant nightlife is often depicted as a progressive show of freedom or a display of decadence, depending on which side of the fence, one is viewing it from. However, whether students are irresponsible or the police are being unreasonable in their approach to the control of crime in town, only time will tell.
