Venomous snake found in RTU hostel; students end protest after VC's assurance on campus safety

KOTA: A five-foot-long venomous snake found in a Rajasthan Technical University hostel bathroom on Friday caused panic, a day after a first-year student died in the hostel, prompting students to protest over campus safety and infrastructure issues. The two-day protest ended after the university gave written assurances on their demands. The snake was rescued by a local snake catcher and released into the surrounding forests.

The incident added to students' concerns over campus safety following the death of Akshit Sharma in the university hostel on Thursday. However, RTU Vice-Chancellor Prof Nimit Choudhary denied that the student died of a snake bite, saying it was a natural death caused by silent cardiac arrest. He said the actual cause of death would be clear only after the postmortem report is received. Snake catcher Govind Sharma said there were some more snakes in and around the hostel and mess , which retreated into their holes when he reached the spot.

Meanwhile, the students' protest, which began on Thursday, ended on Friday evening after the university gave written assurances on their demands in the presence of district administration officials. The students had staged a sit-in at the university's main gate and held an overnight demonstration, demanding written assurances on their grievances.

Following talks with the students, Vice-Chancellor Choudhary gave a written assurance that their demands which could be fairly met as per norms would be addressed, Additional District Magistrate (City) Vinod Kumar Malhotra said. Choudhary said the demands raised by the students were already on the university's agenda and that all legitimate demands would be fulfilled on priority. The university also removed chief warden Prof D K Yadav from the post.

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Chief warden steps down

The vice-chancellor said the chief warden had stepped down on Thursday, following which the university approved his decision and removed him from the post. The students' demands included round-the-clock campus medical facilities with a full-time medical officer, comprehensive repairs and renovation of hostels and campus buildings, and deployment of a dedicated 24x7 animal rescue team on campus. They also sought comprehensive sanitation and maintenance across the campus, guaranteed food security, an uninterrupted supply of clean drinking water and functional streetlights along all campus paths. Earlier in the day, Choudhary had addressed the protesting students at the site in an attempt to mediate and resolve the deadlock.

Responding to complaints about delays in administrative action, he said procedural requirements at a government institution naturally slowed down the pace of operations, but assured students that the administration was working to speed up the process.

The vice-chancellor also said the university administration shared the students' goals regarding infrastructure upgrades and that officials were working to address all reasonable demands.