A group of 32 ex-army men took charge of security on the Jadavpur University campus on Tuesday.
Among them, 30 will function as guards and two as supervisors.
One of their assignments would be to patrol the campus around the clock.
Security at Jadavpur, especially after dark, was minimal earlier.
The new personnel would scan CCTV footage and man the hostels and gates to ensure that outsiders do not have a free run on the campus.
“The university will make showing of the identity card mandatory at the gates. These security personnel would ensure the task that we have failed to do so far,” a JU official said on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the team members could be seen taking their positions around the main campus and being briefed about their assignments.
The state government will be paying their honorarium.
The university had engaged 12 private security personnel in 2018, but not ex-army personnel.
One of the tasks of the new team would be to ensure that the assemblies on the grounds do not continue till late hours. “Usually, such assemblies are attended by outsiders and often turn unruly, posing security challenges,” the official said.
The new security team has been appointed through the Rajya Sainik Board, which was constituted in September 1967. The board deploys ex-servicemen for security jobs in institutions.
JU had its own security personnel, but they were too few, and students routinely defied them.
“We wanted to engage skilled personnel. What is happening has exposed gaping security holes on the campus. We cannot afford to be lax on security anymore. With the deployment of additional security personnel, we hope to enforce discipline on the campus,” said another JU official.
The university has witnessed several security breaches in recent times.
An alleged attack on education minister Bratya Basu by a section of students in JU in March led to a public interest litigation on the absence of adequate security on the campus.
The court asked the university to address the situation in consultation with the state government.
On September 11, a third-year English honours student drowned in a pond while attending a late-night soiree on the campus.
In August 2023, a first-year student died after being allegedly ragged by senior students at the main hostel.
The duty slots for the new security personnel have been split into three shifts: 10am-6pm, 6pm-2am, and 2am -10am.
Vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said: “The court has asked us to enhance security on the campus. The education department has sanctioned funds to engage the security personnel. The security personnel were deployed on Tuesday.”
The state government would pay ₹7.59 lakh each month for the security personnel’s remuneration.
The education department has sanctioned ₹68 lakh to install additional CCTV cameras on the campus.
“We will soon install more CCTV cameras. Or else it will be insubordination of the high court,” said Bhattacharjee.
The new acting JU registrar, Selim Box Mandal, submitted an affidavit to the high court on Tuesday regarding the new security arrangements that JU has put in place and is about to put in place.