Students caught holding hands on the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) campus have had to cough up Rs 500 as fines for the past few months. The institute's security officers allegedly fine students even for riding their bicycles too fast and for hanging out late on the campus.
"There have been instances when we have been fined or our ID cards taken away for something as trivial as hanging out late in the night on campus. All this was never an issue before," said a student, who did not want to be named.
Upset with the strict policing, students have written to Prakash Gopalan, dean of student affairs, and plan to discuss the issue in their student council meet next week. Gopalan, however, played down the issue. “If students want to sensationalise such a trivial issue, I don't think the administration will be dragged into it,” he said.
The institute, which has 8,000 people residing on its 550-acre residential campus in Powai, has tightened security after the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai. A retired army officer heads the institute's security since last March.
