March 7: Trouble is knocking on the doors of the girls’ hostel of the College of Veterinary Science at Khanapara, but the college and hostel administration have woken up too late to the danger signs.

Unidentified miscreants are knocking frequently on the doors of the girls’ hostel in the dead of night.

The college management today implemented a slew of measures to prevent miscreants or other unwanted persons from entering the institution and its campus.

The decision to launch preventive measures was taken after the warden of Girls’ Hostel No. 2, D.N. Kalita, informed the dean of the college about last night’s incident.

An unidentified person knocked on the doors of some of the boarders for quite a long time. The repeated knocking woke up the warden as well as all the boarders and they all came out. Kalita saw a person run away after everyone woke up.

“The knocking continued for quite a long time. Boarders as well as the hostel administration informed the college management several times. But no move was made to prevent such incidents from recurring or to catch hold of the culprits,” said a boarder on condition of anonymity.

She said knocking was heard more frequently on the doors of room numbers 3 and 6. “Girls are feeling insecure and are afraid to go out after dark. We are scared miscreants might try to sneak into the hostel rooms. A concrete wall on the boundary is an immediate and urgent necessity,” the boarder said.

The warden refused to comment on the incident. Around 50 boarders from different northeastern states stay in the hostel.

R.N. Goswami, dean (in charge) of the College of Veterinary Science, said some short-term and long-term measures, including immediate deployment of enough night guards and construction of a large boundary wall around the hostel, would be taken.

Refusing to accept that such unsavoury incidents have been going on for quite some time, Goswami said the administration would take all possible steps to prevent a repeat of last night’s trauma.

“I have talked to the security officer of the college and asked him to take necessary steps. The present strength of night guards will be beefed up, if necessary. We may also seek police help to maintain strict vigil on the college campus so that the culprits are identified and arrested,” he said.

The incident has evoked sharp reactions from parents and senior citizens. Blaming the college administration for it, senior residents of the locality demanded urgent steps for ensuring the safety of girl students. The All Guwahati Students’ Union, too, has expressed concern over the incident.

The College of Veterinary Science is under the Assam Agricultural University.