Nagpur: Two youths barged into a govt girls’ hostel near IC Chowk on Hingna Road, hours after midnight and tried to molest a sleeping student before fleeing with her cell phone. The incident happened around 3am on Wednesday and triggered concern over negligible security in a girls’ hostel run by the state social welfare department. There were no CCTV cameras on the premises, and a woman warden and woman guard were on night duty. Both were unaware of the intrusion.The second-year engineering student, who was alone in her room with lights switched off, was shaken and stirred when the intruders touched her inappropriately. She screamed for help, alerting other girls in the hostel. The two men escaped before they could be caught.The youths entered the second floor of the rented building that houses 65 girls pursuing engineering, medical and other courses, through the rear staircase that had a broken lock, which was temporarily secured with a latch. The girl’s roommate was not present that night. Despite an attempt by the survivor and other hostel inmates to nab the intruders, they got away.Initially, MIDC police registered the case as a mobile phone theft. After the girl shared the full account of what happened, police added a molestation charge and assigned the case to women officers.Senior police inspector Gokul Mahajan of MIDC police said CCTV footage from nearby buildings has given clues. “We have the suspects under watch. Security issues at the hostel have been flagged to the parent organisation,” said Mahajan. He added police have stepped up surveillance and are using their intelligence network to track down the accused.Hostel authorities also came under fire for poor security arrangements. The back door that allowed the accused to enter had been left unguarded after a recent cleanup drive.Joint commissioner of police Navinchandra Reddy said the crime branch has been asked to assist in the case. Police commissioner Ravinder Singal is also monitoring the probe.
