During COVID, classes were held online, but now Lady Shri Ram College shifts classes online following the alleged gang rape of a 17-year-old near campus, raising fresh questions over women’s safety in the capital
SEPTEMBER 24: Three men posing as policemen allegedly abducted a 17-year-old girl from her male friend, assaulted her at gunpoint; police encounter near college exposes glaring security gaps
After this, Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR) shifted classes online this week after the 17-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped inside Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir, barely about 2 km from the college. The incident, which occurred on September 21, has triggered protests by students and renewed questions over the safety of women in public spaces around one of Delhi’s prominent women’s colleges.
According to police, the teenager and her 17-year-old male friend had visited Kalkaji Mandir on the evening of her birthday before entering Aastha Kunj Park through Gate 7. Three men allegedly approached them and claimed to be police officers. They reportedly threatened the two minors with legal action, separated the girl from her friend and took her into secluded parts of the park, where she was allegedly sexually assaulted. Police said weapons were used to intimidate the victims. A PCR distress call was made at around 8:45 pm.
The three accused have been identified as Asif, Hemant and Mukesh. Police arrested all three within hours of the incident. Asif was apprehended after an encounter near the back gate of LSR, during which police said he opened fire and was shot in the leg. Hemant, described in reports as a lawyer or law graduate, and his brother Mukesh, a BSc student, were subsequently arrested.
Investigators have also been examining whether the crime was pre-planned. Police reportedly recovered a pistol and knife from Asif, while conspiracy-related charges have been added as investigators probe the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The incident has exposed striking security deficiencies at the 142-acre Aastha Kunj Park. Reports have highlighted inadequate lighting, the absence of functioning CCTV cameras at entry and exit points, unmanned gates, damaged boundary walls and inadequate patrolling. Local residents and people familiar with the park have also told police that Asif had allegedly been seen previously harassing couples and carrying a knife, although no formal complaint had apparently been filed against him.
The question now confronting authorities is painfully simple: how does a major public park in the capital remain so poorly secured that three men can allegedly pose as policemen, isolate a minor and commit a serious crime without immediate detection?
LSR students protest
The proximity of the crime to LSR became even more alarming when the police encounter involving one of the accused took place near the college’s back gate. LSR suspended in-person classes from Tuesday afternoon and moved classes online on Wednesday as a precaution. Principal Kanika K. Ahuja said the college was coordinating with police over additional patrolling around the back gate and adjoining lanes. Offline classes resumed on Thursday, September 24.
Students subsequently held solidarity marches demanding better security, functioning CCTV cameras and regular police patrols around the college. They also raised concerns about routine harassment in the area, including alleged groping and public indecency.
A netizen venting their anger wrote on X: “In 2020, colleges went Online due to CoVid. In 2026, due to fear of rape. Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi goes online after a 17 year old was raped at a park nearby by 3 men posing as cops. Girls narrate how people grope, masturb@te openly outside college. But we are Vishwaguru.”
The episode has produced an unsettling image of Delhi in 2026: a women’s college temporarily moving classes online not because of a pandemic, but because students fear what can happen outside its gates.
For a city that has spent years debating women’s safety, the latest incident has once again shifted attention from slogans and assurances to the most basic question of all: are public spaces actually safe after dark?
JANPATH NEWS NETWORK (JNN)
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