Siliguri, Jan. 7: North Bengal University (NBU) has decided to step up security at all its women’s hostels following yesterday’s incident at Visva-Bharati in which a youth shot dead a girl student inside her hostel before shooting himself.

“There will be round-the-clock security at all four post-graduate women’s hostels on the campus as well as the law-students’ hostel from tomorrow,” said hostel superintendent Manas Chakraborty.

Till now, the women’s hostel for law students did not have any security arrangement, while two hostels on the campus — Rani Bhabani and Nivedita — had to share one guard during the day. Sarojini and Purneswari hostels always had 24-hour guards.

This morning, the new vice-chancellor, Arunava Basu Majumdar, inspected the hostels accompanied by engineer P.N. Basak and security officer Tushar Maitra.

“The visit was part of the varsity’s plans to upgrade the hostels and was pre-scheduled,” Chakraborty said.

“We welcome any effort to step up security,” a student of the history department said. “Yesterday’s incident suddenly made us feel unsafe, specially since many outsiders keep coming to the campus.”

Junior doctors of North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH), on their part, said their demand for eviction of squatters from the campus is based on the same fear. “A Visva-Bharati kind of incident can take place here any moment,” said Prashant Sarkar, the secretary of the junior doctors’ council.

Samir Ghosh Roy, the superintendent of NBMCH, said: “The demand is legitimate and we are taking the help of the administration to address the issue.”

An eviction drive indeed seemed underway at NBMCH today. The junior doctors, however, continued with their ceasework, which began on Saturday after some of them were accused of man-handling a pregnant, visually-impaired woman.