After sexual assault incident, Anna University forms panel to frame fresh student safety guidelines

CHENNAI: To amplify students’ safety, especially women, on the campus, Anna University has constituted a five-member panel to mete out fresh guidelines to prevent sexual harassment.

Sources from the university said that the institution’s dean, KS Easwarakumar, will head the panel. This move comes in the aftermath of a second-year engineering student being sexually assaulted on campus by an outsider.

A senior Anna University professor said the panel will comprise the dean and members of the internal complaints committee, among others.

“The panel is expected to bring out a comprehensive plan and guidelines to bring safety to the female students in future,” he said.

The professor said students staying at the hostel will be refrained from collecting food deliveries at odd hours as a safety measure.

“Additional security persons will be deployed at all the gates and will maintain a register about the students at entry and exit points,” he said, adding, “outdated CCTVs will be replaced with the latest surveillance cameras.”

He said that though there is a rule that students should carry their university ID card regularly, it is not followed diligently. “Also, no third persons will be allowed in the parks inside the university. Many outsiders are currently using it without the knowledge of the security staff.”