Bhubaneswar, June 27: A postgraduate student of Rajdhani College was allegedly molested by a man, who was not a student of the college, after the girl objected to lewd remarks directed at her.

Mahila police have registered a case after receiving a complaint from the victim.

The victim alleged that the accused had been harassing her for the past few days. "He passed lewd remarks at me and when I objected he grabbed my hand and tried to molest me. Later, he fled the spot," alleged the victim.

Stalking and sexual harassment near most of the educational institutes, including schools, in the city have become a major concern for students and their parents. Last week, the parents of Kendriya Vidyalaya-1 in the Kharavela Nagar police limits had staged a demonstration, demanding action against such molesters and youngsters passing lewd remarks at girl students.

Parents have alleged that the youngsters passed lewd remarks at the girl students and at times even tried to take photographs of them. They also accused the youngsters of rash driving, posing a threat to the lives of the students.

Several educational institutes, including the government-run colleges, have been witnessing this nuisance over the past few years. Many youngsters can be spotted in and around the educational institutes stalking girls.

Statistics available with the police revealed that as many as 92 cases of verbal sexual harassment had been registered in Bhubaneswar between 2012 and 2016. "The unruly youths assemble near the shops located near the educational institutes and pass lewd remarks at the girl students. Some of them even roam around the institutes on a daily basis even though they are not students of that educational institute," said a girl student of Rama Devi Women's University.

The principal of a city-based college had in last December lodged a complaint with Capital police, accusing a group of youths of harassing the girl students in front of the educational institute. The principal also alleged that one of the youngsters had tried to kidnap a girl of the institute but could not succeed following intervention of the college authorities. Most of students facing similar situation are reluctant to seek police help to deter the unruly youths. "The police should install closed-circuit television cameras in and around the educational institutes to identify the youngsters involved in such incidents," said another student.

Rama Devi Women's University vice-chancellor Padmaja Mishra said they had alerted the police. "We have been encouraging the students to bring such incidents to our notice, following which we will lodge formal police complaints," said Mishra.

Deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi urged the heads of the educational institutes to lodge formal police complaints. "After receiving specific complaints we will deploy our men in plainclothes to nab these unruly youths. We will also intensify patrolling during study hours," said Bhoi.