Farewell celebration turns violent at DAVV’s IET Hostel

Indore: A farewell celebration for final year students at Institute of Engineering and Technology of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya turned into large-scale vandalism and disorder inside the Ramanujanam boys’ hostel, in the early hours of Sunday.Videos of the incident, widely circulating on social media, showed students dancing in semi-nude condition, shouting and damaging hostel property during the late-night gathering. The incident took place after 4 am as final-year students celebrated the completion of their course.In the viral clips, students can be seen dancing to loud music while some from the upper floors are pouring buckets of water on students gathered in the courtyard.As the celebrations escalated, students began vandalising hostel property. Plastic chairs, tables and CCTVs were smashed, windowpanes broken and furniture thrown around the premises. A plastic water storage tank was also damaged during the commotion.The videos triggered sharp reactions online and prompted action by the university administration.Vice-Chancellor Rakesh Singhai said that students involved in the incident were being identified and strict disciplinary action would be taken. He said financial penalties would also be imposed for the damage caused to university property.IET director Pratosh Bansal said that disciplinary proceedings had already begun. He said that the students involved appeared to be in an intoxicated state during the incident. “Action has been initiated to withhold their degrees and cancel placement offers. The companies where they have secured placements will also be informed,” he said.Following the incident, some students, claimed that hostel residents have been facing water shortage and poor food quality for a long time. They alleged that due to water scarcity during the peak summer season, several students were not being allowed to operate coolers inside the hostel, which had left many of them agitated and frustrated in recent weeks.DAVV executive council member Dr A K Dwivedi wrote to Vice-Chancellor demanding strict and exemplary action in the matter. In his letter, he termed the incident “highly unfortunate and condemnable”. Dwivedi has also written to Governor Mangubhai Patel, chief minister Mohan Yadav and higher education minister Inder Singh Parmar, seeking strict action in the matter and calling for stronger disciplinary mechanisms in university hostels.This is not the first time Institute of Engineering and Technology has found itself amid controversy. Over the past few months, the institute has witnessed repeated complaints of ragging by students, along with multiple incidents of vandalism inside hostel premises.