Jadavpur University began enforcing an 8pm campus access restriction, with acting registrar Debajit Dutta and security personnel directing students to leave the premises during the first night of the new rule.
The restriction followed a notice issued by Dutta stating that anyone found on the campus after 8pm without permission or a valid reason would be treated as a trespasser. The notice applied to all people on the premises, including students.
The campus was not completely empty at the stated deadline. Students were seen near union rooms, canteens and the ground after 8pm, while some hostel boarders and other students remained in different parts of the university. At about 8.45pm, Dutta began visiting areas where students commonly gather, accompanied by security guards.
Dutta said he went to the ground, the area near the guest house, the open-air theatre, Subarna Jayanti Bhavan and the canteens. According to his statement, students and hostel boarders left after he asked them to do so. He said it would take time for students to adjust to the new expectation that they should not remain on the campus late at night.
Security personnel continued patrolling after the acting registrar left. A member of the security staff said fewer students had been staying on the campus late since vandalism on August 19 and August 20. The staff member said some students were playing on the ground and were asked to disperse by 9pm, which they did.
The university’s enforcement approach is therefore relying on a combination of a formal notice, direct intervention by the registrar and continuing security patrols. The first night also showed that implementation did not depend only on closing gates at 8pm, since students were still present in several parts of the campus after the stated deadline.
Security guards were also seen restricting entry into the university at night. One guard said personnel had been instructed not to allow anyone into the campus on Sundays and holidays, even during the day, unless they could show a valid identity card or establish a valid reason for entering.
The new rule changes how access to a large university campus is managed outside regular activity hours. Students, hostel residents, staff and visitors who need to remain on the premises after the deadline will require permission or a valid reason under the notice. The university has not indicated in the supplied report how permissions will be issued or how exceptions will be recorded.
For now, the immediate next step is continued enforcement through security patrols and gate checks. The acting registrar has acknowledged that students may need time to adapt, while guards are expected to continue dispersing people who remain on the campus without authorisation.
