The ghastly incident of a student attacking a fellow girl student with a sickle on Thursday raises questions about the security being provided to girls in co-educational institutes. It also shows that people really have no confidence in the police department.

The fact that the victim, P. Lavanya, was unable to confide in the college authorities proves that the college did nothing to instill confidence in girl students. In fact, Lavanya’s parents too thought that it was better to keep things to themselves. They believed that involving the police or the college authorities would complicate the matters.

“We thought the police and college authorities will only intimidate our daughter,” said Lavanya’s father’s Mr Jairam. “We thought if the boy got to know that we have contacted the police or the college authorities, he might get more aggressive,” said Mr Jairam.

Even the institute failed to provide the basic security to its girl students. “There is no separate cell for women in the college. However, students can confide in senior faculty members. We expect the girls to share such problems with them,” said Mr Hitesh Reddy, the secretary of the TRR Polytechnic College, Ameerpet, where the incident took place.

It may be recalled that last year in December, two engineering students of Warangal, Swapnika and Pranitha, were attacked with acid by the former’s spurned lover. This happened in spite of the police being informed in advance. While Pranitha managed to escape with minor burns, Swapnika succumbed to her injuries.

The fact remains that the police force lost the trust of the public and the state is no more safe for girls.