Fact-finding panel records statements of 600 witnesses

New Delhi: A fact-finding committee conducting an independent probe into the alleged molestation of female students of Delhi University's Gargi College here on February 6, recorded and examined the statements of over 600 witnesses so far, varsity sources said on Wednesday.

The students of the college will meet the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Saturday to get a status update on the commission's probe into the incident.

The women's panel had issued a notice to the college principal over the incident and asked her to reply by February 25. Some student representatives will meet the panel on Saturday to get a status update on the panel's probe in the matter. Meanwhile, a preliminary probe by the committee revealed gross lapses in overall security at the fest and that the college had underestimated the number of participants in the fest on the campus. It recommended immediate sensitisation of the college staff to gender issues. "The committee found that the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is grossly biased and compromised and that a new ICC be formed as per UGC requirements by February-end," the college's student body said in a statement.

During its general body meeting (GBM) on Monday, the panel had presented its preliminary findings before the students and other members. Many students of Gargi College had alleged that a mob of outsiders had gatecrashed into the campus, manhandled and sexually harassed them on the third day of the college's annual cultural fest 'Reverie'.

A student of Gargi College, who said that she was pushed and verbally abused, blamed the police for their incompetence. "The police didn't do anything and were busy clicking selfies with the celebrity who had come to the fest. Even the bouncers didn't pay heed to who was coming inside the campus," she alleged.

The Delhi Police has so far arrested 17 people including Delhi University students. The accused were arrested under sections 452, 354, 509 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, police said on Tuesday. Of them, 10 have been granted bail

by Delhi's Saket court. Additional DCP (South) Geetanjali Khandelwal is leading the investigation in the said case. The investigators said that none of the accused had passes for the fest.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court had on Monday issued notices to CBI, Delhi Police and Centre on a petition seeking a CBI probe into the molestation incidents. The students had boycotted classes after the incident. Now, they are holding hour-long boycotts since some students have their examinations in April.