NEW DELHI, January 3: In the wake of the Saket double murders and the spiralling crime rate in the Capital, a thousand-odd people living on the isolated campus of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) in south Delhi have written to the police chief demanding more security on the campus. The residents met with senior officials of south district police last night to air their demands.The new residential complex, located on one end of the Delhi ridge, was built last year. More than 200 families live in the area. The houses are located on hilly terrain, about 3 km from the main gate of the campus. The Asola wildlife sanctuary borders the eastern and northern boundary of the residential complex. The southern tip of the residential complex touches the district boundaries of Faridabad and Ghaziabad.IGNOU has employed 10 security guards. At any particular time, there are three who patrol the area. ``How can three guards keep vigil over 200 houses? How can 1,000 people depend on three private security guards for protection against deadly criminal tribes?'' asked a resident.Prof Pradeep Tahni, who lives on campus, said ``I shifted to the residential complex in March last year. This place is a great place to live in as it is pollution and noise free. But we don't feel secure here. The police has to act as this place is ripe for criminal attacks''.Entry to the 150-acre big IGNOU residential complex is restricted at the main gate. There are no other man-made entry points to the campus. However, there are several points from which one can jump the boundary wall and enter the campus. Though the 5-km long boundary wall is about 6 feet in height, there are points where the land outside the boundary wall is quite high as it runs through an undulating landscape. ``We have asked the university authorities to put a wire fence all along the boundary wall,'' Professor Kumar said. The residents have come up with a scheme to guard the campus. Says Prof Kumar, ``We want the police to put two constables on night duty here. Two security guards and two residents will patrol the area along with them between 11 pm and 4 am every day.'' A delegation of the south district police will be meeting the residents on Tuesday to decide on the implementation of the scheme.
