PALAKKAD: In a disturbing security breach at one of the country's premier technical institutions, a 21-year-old woman student was attacked inside the Nila campus of the Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad on Monday evening, prompting the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) and sparking nationwide concern over campus safety.
The fourth-year Data Science and Engineering student, hailing from Salem in Tamil Nadu, was assaulted around 7:45 pm while she was walking alone from the Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Academic Block to Kedaram, the students' mess facility.
She suffered a deep, six-centimetre-long head injury on the left side of her forehead, reportedly inflicted with a wooden plank or a similar object.
Institute authorities said she was taken to a nearby private hospital and later shifted to a medical college hospital in Coimbatore. “She is out of danger and recovering,” officials confirmed.
The attack, carried out in a dark stretch allegedly lacking CCTV coverage, has raised serious questions about surveillance and perimeter security across the sprawling 600-acre campus.
The Kasaba police have registered a case under BNS Sections 118(2) (voluntarily causing hurt using dangerous weapons), 109(1) (attempt to murder), and 126(2) (wrongful restraint).
A senior police officer involved in the investigation said the possibility of insider involvement is being closely examined. “The specific location where the incident occurred did not have CCTV surveillance. The assailant appears to have known the terrain well. While outsider intrusion cannot be ruled out, the insider angle is a strong line of inquiry,” the officer said.
The Palakkad district police chief visited the campus and announced the constitution of an SIT led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police to fast-track the probe. Forensic experts have inspected the scene and collected material evidence.
The assault triggered midnight protests by nearly 200 students, who gathered at Nila Gate and near the Malhar and Saveri hostels, alleging repeated security lapses.
Students claimed that large stretches of the campus lack surveillance cameras and pointed to vulnerable boundary walls and ongoing construction activity, with outside labourers present within the premises.
“This is not an isolated incident. We have raised concerns about security earlier,” said a protesting student, demanding accountability and immediate corrective measures.
Faculty members, speaking anonymously, acknowledged that certain portions of the compound wall are in poor condition and stressed the need for robust surveillance in view of the institute’s rapid expansion.
In an official statement, IIT Palakkad Director Prof. A. Seshaon Sekhar said a high-level review meeting had been convened and that immediate steps were being taken to enhance campus security. The institute has decided to install additional CCTV cameras, increase security patrols, and tighten access controls. Students have also been advised to use institute-operated transport facilities during late hours.
Established in 2015, IIT Palakkad currently has over 1,500 students from across the country. The attack inside the campus has triggered alarm beyond Kerala, with the Kerala Police under pressure to swiftly identify and arrest the perpetrator.
Police said the investigation is being treated with the utmost priority and assured that no angle will be left unexplored.