UIET student’s murder: Month on, panel gives clean chit to PU DSW, two others
On April 15, the committee had recommended that DSW Amit Chauhan, DSW women Simrit Kahlon and associate DSW Naresh Kumar step down temporarily till the ongoing inquiry is completed
The office of the dean students welfare (DSW), which includes the DSW, DSW women and associate DSW, has been given a clean chit as per officials based on an inquiry report submitted by a Panjab University (PU) committee to vice-chancellor Renu Vig on Monday. The committee was formed to probe the incident concerning the stabbing of a student at a concert held in the varsity on March 28.
On April 15, the committee had recommended that DSW Amit Chauhan, DSW women Simrit Kahlon and associate DSW Naresh Kumar step down temporarily till the ongoing inquiry is completed. Chief of university security Vikram Singh was also asked to step down till the time his role is investigated and standing operating procedures (SOPs) regarding strengthening campus security are framed by PU.
Meanwhile, the committee, headed by Nandita Singh, had been taking care of the duties at the DSW office. However, the original office-bearers are expected to soon rejoin their duties.
While the inquiry report also details a list of SOPs regarding holding such events in the future, officials have confirmed that no lapses were committed by the DSW office in the stabbing incident.
As per V-C Vig, the report recommends that a faculty in-charge be appointed to coordinate with the PU security office. Dinesh Kumar from the department of laws, PU, will be given this charge. Recently, a former PPS officer Tejinder Singh Sandhu and professor Anil Monga of the centre of police administration were given advisory roles at the PU security office.
While the SOPs have still not been finalised, as per Vig, the committee has recommended that celebrity star nights will no longer be organised at PU. All Panjab University Campus Student Council (PUCSC) office-bearers will get to host just one annual fest in coordination with the DSW office. Earlier, each of the four members of the student council used to hold different fests.
The main magisterial inquiry being conducted by the local area SDM into the matter still hasn’t been submitted. His report will probe allegations of lapses from police and medical authorities, along with any lapses found on PU’s part.
On March 28, Aditya Thakur, a student of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), was stabbed at singer Masoom Sharma’s concert organised by the PUCSC joint secretary. He later passed away at PGIMER while undergoing treatment. All the accused, including a juvenile, have been apprehended by the police.
