The stalk-and-slash shocker at Jadavpur University on Wednesday has exposed how outsiders enjoy a free run on campus with nobody to stop a potential assailant like the stranger who attacked engineering student Garima Singh.

Two security personnel were supposed to be on duty on the ground floor of the eight-storeyed building on Wednesday when Garima’s assailant walked up to the second-floor corridor with his face covered and accosted her.

The girl from Shillong was lucky to escape with a few stitches but students who saw a bleeding Garima screaming for help and running into the union room were shaken out of their complacency.

“It appears that neither the main entrance of the building nor the gates are manned properly. There is a complete lack of surveillance, which we hadn’t realised until this incident,” said a student of the engineering department.

This is the first time there has been a debate over security on the 52-acre main campus of Jadavpur University, founded in 1955.

The university employs around 150 security personnel to guard its three campuses, including the Salt Lake campus and the National Instruments premises that it acquired recently.

More than 60 of these personnel are deployed on the main campus, which records an average daily footfall of 10,000.

“Wednesday’s incident was unfortunate. But given the security infrastructure we have, it is not possible for us to maintain strict surveillance across such a huge area that is visited by so many people,” the university’s pro vice-chancellor, Siddhartha Dutta, said.

The university recently made it compulsory for students and staff to carry identity cards. “But Wednesday’s incident proved that this is not enough. We have to be more vigilant,” said a teacher.

Jadavpur University has five gates. Gate No. 1 opens out to the busy Jadavpur Station Road, No. 2 is next to the State Bank of India branch, No. 3 leads to the engineering section of the campus, No. 4 is the Bengal Lamp entrance and No. 5 is the passage to the open-air theatre. Gate No. 5 closes at 7pm and Nos. 1, 2 and 3 at 9pm. But the side gate of No. 4 remains open all night.

Outsiders often take shortcuts through the campus to avoid the congested 8B crossing. Youths from far and near come to play in the field near the engineering department.

As of now, visitors aren’t stopped at any of the gates, and no entry log is maintained. Some students think there is no reason why this should change after a “one-off incident”.

“You can’t blame what has happened on poor security,” said a member of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union.

Students across departments argue that stricter security measures would rob the campus of its character.

Garima might not agree.