Lady Shri Ram College for Women suspended all classes from noon on Tuesday after a police encounter involving an accused in the Kalkaji gang-rape case took place near the college’s back gate, around 50 metres from the campus.
Police identified the accused as Asif, who was shot in the leg during an early-morning operation. According to the police, he opened fire at a police team that had gone to arrest him.
WHAT HAPPENED ON TUESDAY
The LSR administration advised students, teachers and staff members to avoid gathering near the back gate. The college said it was coordinating with the Delhi Police over security arrangements along the campus boundary. Guest faculty were also asked to hold their classes online on Wednesday.
The LSR Students’ Union announced an emergency online General Body Meeting for 9 pm on Tuesday.
In a statement, the union said the encounter taking place so close to the college had left several students “shaken and unsafe”.
According to the union, the meeting would allow students to voice their concerns, seek answers, share their experiences and discuss safety measures they wanted implemented at the college.
The union said it would formally approach the Principal’s office with demands related to security around the campus perimeter. It added that the college should be a “safe haven” and that safety needed to become a reality experienced by students on campus.
The meeting was scheduled to take place on Google Meet, with the link to be shared through LSR Communities.
THE POLICE OPERATION
The encounter occurred during a police operation to arrest Asif, one of three men accused of allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl at Astha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir.
Police said the three men posed as policemen and approached the girl and her 17-year-old male friend after they entered the park on Monday evening.
The men allegedly told the two that they were minors and threatened them with the registration of a case. Police said they subsequently separated the girl from her friend and took her to an isolated section of the park.
According to the police complaint, Asif allegedly threatened the girl using a firearm and knife before sexually assaulting her. The complaint also alleges that the other two accused raped her.
The girl underwent a medical examination at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. An FIR was registered at Amar Colony police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Police said Asif fired three rounds at a team led by Inspector Rajender Dagar when officers attempted to intercept him near DM Office Road in Amar Colony during the early hours of Tuesday.
However, advocate J R Dhankar, the father of Hemant and Mukesh, disputed the allegations against his sons.
Dhankar alleged that police took his sons from their home at around 7 am on Tuesday without telling the family why they were being detained.
“They were beaten up,” he alleged. “We do not know the girl and my sons have no connection with her either. This is a conspiracy to frame them in the case.”
Dhankar said Hemant practises law at Saket court in Delhi, while Mukesh is a final-year BSc Mathematics student.
The family’s account could not independently establish the circumstances surrounding their arrests.
