Ullala, August 30: A stranger behaved indecently before four girls when they were walking on the Mangaluru university campus on Wednesday evening. Condemning this sudden development, the students resorted to protest boycotting the classes in front of the Administrative Block of the university and demanded his immediate arrest.
When the four students were going towards their hostel after the class on Mangala Gangothri campus, the stranger who came on a motorbike, stopped in front of the Kannada department and signaled the girls by opening the zip of his trouser. When the students complained to the security officers, the stranger fled the scene with the motorbike. Later, the students lodged a complaint to the university officers. Since there was no clue over the accused till Thursday morning, the students boycotted the classes and resorted to protest demanding immediate arrest.
The students also demanded the authorities to verify the CCTV footage. On Thursday morning, the authorities showed the footage to the students, but there was no record. Students also demanded to check other CCTV cameras to know the identity of the stranger and take action.
VC promises
However, the students who staged a protest demanded the Vice Chancellor to visit the spot. But Vice Chancellor (Acting) Dr. Kishor who has been to Udupi on a government programme, reached the campus in the afternoon and visited the spot and promised of taking the action. As soon as the complaint was lodged, the university authority has taken the issue seriously. All CCTV footage were collected. Based on the details of footage, preparation was made to lodge a complaint to Konaje police station, he said and also advised the girl students to take main roads instead of short-cuts.
ACP A Ramarao also visited the spot and promised of arresting the accused. Later, the students withdrew their protest.













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New Delhi (PTI): A massive fire swept through a cluster of shanties in Delhi's Rithala area early on Thursday, killing a 17-year-old girl and destroying more than 100 huts that left dozens of migrant families homeless.
Firefighters pulled out the charred body of the girl who was initially reported missing after the fire.
The blaze that was reported to authorities at 4.15 am spread rapidly through the densely packed shanties, triggering panic among residents who rushed out of their huts to escape the flames.
Residents said the shanty cluster was home to migrant labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal and other states who worked as daily wage workers in nearby factories, construction sites and small establishments.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) launched a large-scale firefighting operation and deployed more than 18 fire tenders to control the blaze.
After the fire was brought under control, firefighters recovered the charred body of a teenage girl from the debris.
"Teams reached the location soon after the call was received and began firefighting operations. The fire had already engulfed several shanties in the cluster," a fire official said.
Officials said the blaze spread quickly because the huts were built very close to each other and many contained highly inflammable materials such as plastic sheets, wooden planks and cloth.
Firefighters and local police personnel carried out rescue and cooling operations and managed to bring the fire under control by around 6.30 am.
"The fire had spread to more than 100 huts and a adjacent godown of paper rolls and cardboard and the doors and windows of some residential flats also caught fire. A 17-year-old girl charred body was also recovered. Her body was sent to BSA Hospital by PCR," the officer said.
Police said the girl has been identified and further legal procedures are underway.
Many families said they lost everything in the fire as they had to flee with no belongings during the fire.
"We ran out to save our lives when the fire started. Within minutes everything was burning. Our hut, clothes, money and documents -- everything has turned to ashes," said Ramesh Kumar, a labourer from Bihar who has been living in the area.
Another person from West Bengal, said the flames spread so quickly that people barely had time to wake their children and escape.
"We woke up to screams and saw fire everywhere. We somehow managed to take the children outside. We could not save anything from the hut. All our belongings are gone," she said.
Some residents were seen searching through the burnt remains of their huts in the hope of finding salvageable items. "We worked for years to build this small hut and collect household items. In just a few minutes, everything we had earned was destroyed," said a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh.
Police said the exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and an investigation is underway.
