Bhubaneswar, Dec. 22: Sanghamitra Das has not been sleeping well ever since she heard of a 23-year-old girl being gang raped and thrown off a moving bus in Delhi. Less than 10 days remain before her daughter Archita, 20 — a Delhi University student who is here for her winter break — leaves for the national capital.

“My daughter is in shock too but won’t show it. Such incidents can happen to anyone, anywhere, irrespective of what you are wearing or who you are with. Even smaller cities like Bhubaneswar are no more safe,” the homemaker said.

Young girls in the city mirrored her feelings. “We are eve-teased everyday, even by middle-aged men who might be having daughters our age. They stare at us and some even have the audacity to ask us if we want to go to ‘some place’ with them,” said Deepika, who works for a multi-national company here.

Insecurity haunts most college students, too. Chinmayee Dash, who studies computer science at College of Engineering and Technology, said she tries not to stay out after 7pm since her campus is on the city outskirts. “But there are days when we have to go for tuitions in Nayapalli and finish up only around 8:30pm. Getting back to the campus safely is a challenge. If we miss the bus, we are forced to take an autorickshaw,” she said, adding that she makes it a point to carry some sharp object or a pepper spray can in her bag.

With snatchers and muggers on the prowl, even boys feel insecure moving around in the city. “There are mentally-deranged men everywhere and Bhubaneswar is not an exception,” said Sumeet, a management student.

Parents said despite their best advice, the possibility of an untoward incident cannot be ruled out. “It is very disturbing that many educated and elderly men are taking advantage of young girls. It is a serious corrosion of moral values,” said Sasmita Mishra, mother of a 19-year-old who studies in Delhi.

There is need to conduct a study on the psychology of rapists, feels social activist Sruti Mohapatra. “We need to analyse what breeds such tendencies. Is it frustration in life, lack of occupation or suppressed anger? Figuring out reasons will help chalk out solutions to check such behaviour,” she said.

Additional commissioner of police, Bhubaneswar, Santosh Bala said if death penalty is awarded to rapists, it will certainly have an impact on those contemplating rape. “They will realise that they can’t get away with it easily,” he said.