Goa: Students paraded in underwear during fest; human rights panel issues notice to VC

PANAJI: The Goa State Human Rights Commission has issued notice to the vice-chancellor of Goa University over an alleged incident in which male students were paraded in their underwear during a cultural festival at the institution earlier this year, an official said on Friday. The commission on Thursday issued a notice to Vice-Chancellor Harilal B Menon, asking him to appear before it and submit a reply by July 23.

A senior official from the University said the incident occurred during an inter-departmental festival called "Frolic" held in February. "During a competition called 'Third Degree', the jury asked the participants to strip to their underwear," he said. The rights panel took suo motu cognisance of a report about the incident that appeared in a newspaper this week. The commission, in its notice, stated that it was taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, which prima facie makes out violations of the human rights of the students.
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Condemning the incident, National Students Union of India (NSUI) leader Naushad Chaudhury said that female students were part of the crowd that attended the festival. "Students were not allowed to leave. It was an embarrassing situation for both male and female students present there," he said. The NSUI has planned protests against the event. The opposition Goa Forward Party (GFP) was the first to bring the incident to the fore in the media.

GFP chief Vijai Sardesai said that his party had questioned the authorities about the incident. Goa University, meanwhile, announced a "discretionary holiday" on Friday. "All the teaching and non-teaching staff and students of the University are hereby informed that Friday has been declared a discretionary holiday," university registrar S N Dhuri said in a circular.