Jadavpur University enforced an 8pm campus curfew on Tuesday night, with acting registrar Debajit Dutta and security personnel asking students to leave the premises and restricting entry after hours. The move followed a notice stating that anyone found on campus beyond 8pm without permission or a valid reason would be treated as a trespasser.
The first enforcement of the new rule left the campus largely deserted by late evening. Students were initially seen gathered near union rooms, canteens and the ground after the 8pm deadline. At about 8.45pm, Dutta, accompanied by security guards, visited several parts of the campus and asked those present to leave.
Students dispersed within minutes, according to the report. Security personnel continued patrolling after the acting registrar left, including around areas where students commonly gather. The locations visited by Dutta included the ground, the area near the guest house, the open-air theatre, Subarna Jayanti Bhavan and the canteens.
“I visited the places, where students usually hang around, such as the ground, near the guest house, OAT, Subarna Jayanti Bhavan and canteens. Some students and hostel boarders were there but they left when I asked them to. It will take some time for them to adopt this new habit of not staying on campus till late at night,” Dutta said.
A security staff member said fewer students had been remaining on campus late at night since vandalism on August 19 and 20. Some students were still playing on the ground during the first evening of enforcement, but guards asked them to disperse by 9pm and they complied, the staff member said.
The new rule also changes how the campus is accessed on Sundays and public holidays. A guard said security personnel had been instructed not to allow anyone into the university on those days, including during the daytime, unless they showed a valid identity card or had a legitimate reason to enter.
The notice issued by the acting registrar applies to all people on the premises, including students. It requires those remaining beyond the stated time to have permission or a valid reason. The university has not indicated in the supplied report how long the restrictions will remain in force or whether separate arrangements will apply to hostel residents and other authorised users.
For security personnel, the directive adds a formal time-based access condition to existing patrols that had previously been used to clear the campus at night. The first evening showed the university beginning to implement the rule through direct monitoring, dispersal and gate-level checks. Further enforcement will determine how the new access system is applied across the campus.
