Mumbai: SNDT warden asks student to strip; pupils seek justice

Students protest at SNDT Women's University in Juhu

Even as the #metoo movement continues to gain momentum, an alleged incident of moral policing-cum-harassment at SNDT Women's University has left everyone shocked - a residential student at its Juhu campus was questioned by the hostel warden for wearing a knee-length dress and later asked to strip to prove her skin infection, when the girl cited that as the reason for wearing the garment.

The incident came to light after more than 400 students held a protest on campus and demanded the warden's sacking. Sensing students' anger, and to avoid any untoward incident, authorities called the police on campus.

Soon after the protest erupted, many current and former students started tweeting about the incident, tagging senior officials and ministers, demanding justice.

Mayhem on campus
The incident occurred last afternoon at the Usha Mittal Institute of Technology hostel. According to protesting students, a second-year engineering student was allegedly dragged to a senior's hostel room by Superintendent Hostel Warden Rachana Jhaveri, who asked her why she was wearing a knee-length dress. When the student explained that she had contracted a skin infection, and that the doctor had advised her to wear loose clothes to avoid itching, Jhaveri allegedly asked her to strip and show the infection.

"The girl hails from Jammu. On Sunday afternoon, warden ma'am saw her wearing a dress... When she explained what was wrong, the warden refused to believe it and dragged her to the room of a senior on the fourth floor. She asked her to remove her clothes in front of the other girls and show the infection. Traumatised, she ran down to the common hall, where we were sitting," a protestor said. At 2.30 pm, an hour after the incident, other students started protesting.

Another hostel resident, who too hails from Jammu, said, "The girl's parents have been informed; they should be arriving here soon. They have asked her to lodge a police complaint, which she has gone to do."

Warden woes
A student said, "The girl said she had ringworm on her body. This isn't something to doubt at all, because over the past few days, many residential students have contracted this fungal infection, a result of the water we bathe with being contaminated. Hence, we are all the more shocked that she was asked to 'prove' it."

"This warden has been a nightmare for us; she has bullied nearly everyone. She takes untoward interest in students' personal lives and even checks our phones. If she finds out a girl has a boyfriend, she shames her and blames her parents. And if the girl takes objection to her parents being insulted, the warden engages in character assassination of the girl. This has been happening for a long time, but nobody spoke against it. Today, however, she crossed a line," said another.

Officialspeak
When contacted, Vice Chancellor Dr Shashikala Vanjari said she was out of town and did not know much about the matter. "Nothing like that has happened. We received some calls from students at Juhu campus regarding a problem. I have asked our Officer on Special Duty to look into it."

Late last evening, the university issued an official statement: "SNDTWU authorities have received a complaint by Juhu hostel students against [the] hostel warden. A student has filed a complaint against [the] hostel warden, and [the] matter is being investigated. [The] Warden has been asked to go on leave. She has left the hostel."

Policespeak
An officer from Santacruz police station told mid-day, "An FIR has been filed under section 354, as the student was asked to remove clothes; investigation has begun. Our staff was present at the campus too, as students were protesting in large numbers, but the situation is under control."

The warden says
When contacted, Jhaveri denied the allegation and said, "I simply asked the student to wrap a stole around herself, because she was wearing inappropriate clothes. It has already been made clear by authorities that students are not to wear inappropriate clothes in public areas, such as the mess and office. She wore a stole in front of me but removed it later; so I took her to the students' union president's room... Before I could understand what was happening, she started removing her clothes. I immediately came out from there."

Also Read: #MeToo: Kate Sharma filed molestation complaint against Subhash Ghai

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