DDUC Fest: Students' union alleges mismanagement, principal says peaceful event inside

Students’ Union of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (DDUC), Delhi University alleged mismanagement by the security personnel deployed at the entry gates ahead of Mohit Chauhan’s performance at the annual fest Kalrav’26 on Friday. Videos circulating online show ruckus at the entry gate as a large number of students were in line to enter using QR codes provided at registration. However, the performance went on smoothly inside later that evening, as the star performer shared on his social media handles. The principal, Prof. Hem Chand Jain confirmed the event’s peaceful completion to us.What happenedKalrav'26 was scheduled for 26-28 February and Mohit Chauhan’s performance on day 2 was the highlight. All DU students with valid ID and students from other colleges with QR codes were permitted to enter. However, the student union shared that the gates were closed earlier than expected and alleged mismanagement. Security personnel and college staff were actively trying to control the crowd, but due to the large number of outsiders at the gate, police were seen using batons to manage the situation. Though the ruckus happened before the performance at around 2p.m., the event went on peacefully inside. The singer shared videos on his social media from the performance which continued till late Friday evening.The star performance of Mohit Chauhan was highly appreciated and enjoyed by all: DDUC PrincipalProf. Hem Chand Jain, principal of DDUC, noted that the situation inside the college was peaceful even as 60,000 students attended the fest in the college grounds with a maximum capacity of 10,000. “I sincerely place on record my sincere gratitude to all those who made this a successful mega show. Special thanks to the police for ensuring smooth, peaceful and successful completion of the program. Few students who did not have a valid entry QR code were trying to forcefully enter the college. The security staff deployed there made every possible effort to convince them but unfortunately they were creating nuisance and ruckus. Thereafter, police took appropriate actions to maintain law and order in a situation of large gathering," he said in his statement on Saturday, adding that the police’s efforts helped avoid serious harm to students. Due to mismanagement, chaos occurred: Student UnionLater on Saturday, the student union of the college stated in their letter to the police, which was shared online. “The police administration failed to properly manage the crowd at the entry gates. Despite informing 15 days prior to the event and requesting adequate arrangements, the police authorities were unsuccessful in handling the situation. Due to mismanagement, chaos occurred, which has deeply hurt and angered the student community,” it read.Stating their demands in the letter, the students' union said, "We demand that the police administration take full responsibility for the mismanagement. The officials responsible for the lapse be immediately suspended. A written apology be issued to the students of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College."We used legitimate force to disperse nuisance creators who were misbehaving with female students: DCP DwarkaDCP Dwarka Ankit Kumar Singh said, "Separate queues were maintained for boys and girls. The boys’ queue became overcrowded after some nuisance creators joined it and began misbehaving with female students. When the situation became uncontrollable, police personnel on the ground used legitimate force to disperse them. The force was applied to separate individuals and restore systematic crowd management."“Maafi toh koi matlab hi nahi hai, appreciation milna chahiye. Wahan pe stampede ho jati crowd mismanagement ke liye. Kisi ko koi injury nahi hai jiske liye MLC bani ho. Wahan 150 ka manpower deployed tha. We have videos of these nuisance creators pushing and misbehaving with female students,” he added.