Chandigarh's sector 32 college hires bouncers to keep outsiders at bay

While all eyes were busy revelling in the festivities around student elections on the Panjab University campus, the nomination of candidates for the September 3 students’ council elections at the local colleges stole the show.

Despite police deployment and private security, the management of GGDSD College, Sector 32, availed the services of private bouncers to guard the entry gates. The bouncers were tasked with checking the credentials of those entering the college in order to not let in strangers.

“The deployment has been made as an extra cover to avoid any untoward incident as the college gets a lot of attention from outsiders during the polls. They were given no charge beyond the checking,” Dr Rajinder Singh Mann, Dean Student Welfare (DWS), said. The official’s claim of finding outsiders on the campus stands true, as youngsters from nearby Sectors and other colleges visit the campus to enjoy the ‘election’ scenes.

“We are not asking anything beyond the college identification card. Outsiders are not allowed in without official consent,” one of the bouncers on the job said. The college is known for witnessing charged canvassing for the students’ council polls. “In the past, the campus has witnessed some minor scuffles, so it’s better to take as many precautionary steps as one can for the welfare of students. The students are free to enjoy democracy, but in a healthy way — not by troubling others,” a faculty member said.

Uncontrolled supporters

Meanwhile, the police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse a large number of students canvassing outside DAV College, Sector 10. Stakes are high with as many as 19 candidates filing to contest for the top post. Of the 19, 15 nominations were accepted. The events that followed quickly shaped into a remarkable day on the college’s calendar. Now, though the final list will be out on August 28, after the withdrawals, the numerous groups wasted no time and started canvassing. Soon, the situation turned uncontrollable when the contesting groups got locked in a face-off. The police personnel tried to disperse the crowd, failing which they had to resort to a mild lathi-charge. “The groups took to charged jeering. In order to handle the situation, the police dispersed the crowd,” Sunanda, a student, said. The nominations at other colleges went by smoothly, and the final list will be released on August 28.