09 March,2011 06:39 AM IST | | Vatsala Shrangi
20-year-old Radhika Tanwar was shot dead near her south Delhi college in broad daylight. She was walking through an 'unsafe' two-km stretch as there's no bus service in the area
Her family can now only hope that Radhika Tanwar's assassin is arrested, put on trial and punished in the shortest possible span. But are the city government and its various departments entirely blameless?
Treading softly:u00a0Radhika Tanwar was shot and killed on Tuesday morning. Pics/mid day
The victim's family, friends, and Ram Lal Anand (RLA) College authorities don't think so. That's because at 10.15 am on Tuesday when she was shot, Radhika was walking towards her college through a perilous two-kilometre stretch, like any other day. It's perilous because of the absence of a bus service that would drop students at the doorstep of the college and because it is a happy hunting ground for eve-teasers.
1. Radhika is climbing down a foot over-bridge with her friend Aditya at
around 10.13 am when a person comes from behind and shoots her at
point blank range.
2. The assailant jumps down from the bridge, as the victim's friend gives
chase.
3. The attacker leaps over a roadside fence and escapes.
4. Radhika lies on the floor, bleeding. She dies on the spot.
The second-year degree student (Roll No. 6251157) was murdered by an unidentified personu00a0 in south Delhi in broad daylight. Radhika (20) was attacked on a foot over-bridge not far from Ram Lal Anand College in Dhaula Kuan at around 10.15 am. The victim is a resident of Naraina Village in west Delhi.
'No security'
College authorities attribute the entire problem to non-existent security and the vulnerability of the area where two prominent colleges of south campus - Ram Lal Anand and Motilal Nehru - are situated.
"I am absolutely shocked by the incident. Though, cops in the area are cooperative, there is a serious problem of no buses plying in the area for a while now," said Vijay K Sharma, Principal, RLA College (Morning).u00a0u00a0
"It is surprising and shocking that such an incident occurred just a short distance away from the college. It is disheartening," said Dr Ashok Sarin, Principal, RLA College (Evening).
"The two adjoining colleges, RLA and Motilal Nehru, are most vulnerable to crimes like these. If only buses had been plying on this route, the girl could have got down at the college gate and the tragic incident could have been avoided," added Sarin.
Where's the bus?
Sharma concurs. According to him, there have been meetings with the DU Vice-Chancellor regarding the issue. There has been a proposal under which the college planned to hire two new DTC buses, which would run only on this stretch, starting from Hauz Khas.
However, he expressed his ignorance about the fate of the project. "Our girls are facing too many risks while commuting. Problems of stalking and eve-teasing are rampant. I have advised the girls to move in groups when outside the campus and issued a notice for them to keep their mobile phones handy and the police number on speed dial. It is a societal problem as well; men in our society have to be sensitised towards women," said Sarin.
Harish Dhawan, Prof. (Economics) RLA College had a startling revelation. "We have been informed that since the past four days a group of boys from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College were troubling the girls. But it is still unexplainable how she can be shot in broad daylight in a crowded place," said he.u00a0
On the 'wrong foot'
Though south Delhi is considered blessed when compared to other parts of the Capital in terms of security and infrastructure incidents like this one come as a wake-up call. South campus students who have to put up with this problem of lack of adequate public transportation certainly think so. Initially students used to make use of the DTC's outer Mudrika service to reach their colleges, but now that has been rerouted. There are only buses on route no. 611 that provide some relief, but the service is so infrequent that youngsters choose to walk rather than wait 20 minutes. Significantly, the DTC's DU Special buses don't cover this stretch.
Students claim that they survive on pocket money and it is not possible to spend Rs 40 everyday on auto. "At times students accept offers of lift from strangers during exams. Even we drive them occasionally when there's an emergency," said Dhawan.
However, even after such an incident, the transport authorities in the city are tight-lipped on the issue. When MiD DAY contacted DTC officials, they appeared indifferent. Naresh Kumar, IAS, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, DTC, was not available for comment. When contacted AK Goel, Dy. Chief General Manager (Traffic) and Regional Manager (SBU), refused to comment and asked us to call during office hours.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Premature end
Radhika's friends are devastated. "She was a bright girl, good at studies and other activities at college. I just don't know how to react," said Suman Tanwar, President, RLA College (Morning).u00a0
"We just don't know what to say on this issue. It is so bad for her parents and also for the college," said Arjun Khanna, student, B Com (H), second year, RLA College.
"I am just shocked and still can't understand how some boy our age can do this! We just didn't feel like coming to college after we got the news in the morning," said Sahil Markand, another second-year student from the college.u00a0
