Heading into the third consecutive day of protest, the Banaras Hindu University (BHU)  brought forward its Dusshera break by three days. The students have been asked to vacate their hostels by tonight.

The incident began when scores of students, largely boarders from BHU’s Triveni hostel and other hostels in Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (MMV), staged a sit-in protest at university’s Lanka gate. The students were protesting against the university administration’s lack of action against the two men who had allegedly attacked a first-year student within the BHU campus on Thursday evening.

“The violence against women are common in BHU. The administration never ensured basic security inside campus and continued giving hollow promises. This time girls were determined and put up a strong resistance. However, the inaction from the side of administration and brutal crackdown by the male police on female protestors shows nothing but the deep rooted patriarchy in the institutional level,” said a student from faculty of social science.

Here’s the timeline of events that led to violence within campus premises:

September 21, around 6 pm

•A student of Banaras Hindu University on her way from the department to the hostel was groped by two men on a bike who put their hands inside the girl’s clothes.

•The incident happened approximately 100 meters away from the security post.

•The victim went to the Proctor Board Office to lodge a complaint where she was shamed and laughed at. She was also told not to step out after 6 pm.

September 21, around 7 pm

•Wardens of the victim’s hostel (Triveni Complex)  came in and began to discuss imposing hostel curfew timing as 6 pm (which is 7:45 pm now) for a few days in light of the incident and the PM’s impending visit.

•Attempts were made to cover up the matter for 2 days until Prime Minister Modi left the city.

•This enraged students who were already protesting against the molestation that had happened on the same day.

•As the number of protestors increased, wardens of the Complex came along with the Dean of Students who tried to calm down the girls. But students were not convinced and demanded a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor.

September 22, around 6 am

•Girls marched from Triveni hostel and protested at the Lanka Gate, the university’s main gate, demanding that the Vice-Chancellor should address them publicly.

•In no time, the girls from Triveni Complex were joined by girls from MMV, which is a constituent body of BHU and other hostels from all over the campus.

•The protest continued throughout the day.

September 23, around 3 am

•About 50 protestors gathered at VC lodge asking him to come out and speak.

•Rumours spread that the VC had agreed to address the girls if they gathered at one place without the boys and the media.

•Even though the girls came together, the VC didn’t show up.

September 23 around 5 am

•Protest continued overnight as hundreds of girls stayed on the roads throughout the night.

•While VC still hadn’t made a public appearance, continued to send messages through his agents.

•Students continued demanding a meeting with the VC.

September 23, 11 am

•Youth wing of different political parties including ABVP and AISA began appearing at the protest spot in solidarity with the protestors and their demands.

•Girl students came together as they didn’t want their movement to be politicised or to share the stage with any political factions.

September 23, around 4 pm

•Number of female protestors started dwindling as political parties and male students started taking the lead.

September 23, around 6 pm

•An announcement was made at the Triveni Complex hostel that the VC will be addressing girls in the hostel campus at 8 pm.

September 23, 9 pm

•The girls waited until 8:45 pm and then they realised that the Triveni hostel gates had been locked from outside.

•Girls moved towards the gate as a mob and started shaking the gates in an attempt to open them.

•Some protestors from Lanka gate too came outside the Triveni hostel gate urging the girls to come out.

•As the gate was opened by the girls, they saw the VC in his car.

•The protestors came from Lanka gate started shouting “VC murdabaad”. In no time, he went back inside stating security as a concern, despite police protection.

•The group marched out of the gate. While some moved towards Lanka gate, others went back to their respective hostels to decide a better course of action in order to prevent politicisation of the movement.

•The wardens started targeting the students personally to move inside the hostel campus. Under pressure, the crowd dispersed, and students, inevitably, had to move back to their rooms.

September 23, around 9 pm

•Another announcement was made at MMV that the VC disgruntled with the Triveni students will now be addressing girls at MMV.

•Most girls who were protesting at the Lanka gate moved to MMV in order to speak to the VC.

•After waiting for more than an hour, girls started moving out of MMV.

•After around 30 girl students marched out of the MMV, police locked the MMV gates.

•An angry crowd, from inside, started shouting for help to break down the lock.

•The protestors from Lanka moved to MMV to help the students to open the gate

•Soon after the gates were opened, police resorted to lathi-charge

•Male cops beat up girls.

September 23, around 11 pm

•The protestors at Lanka were surrounded by the police from all sides, as the PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) entered through the back gate of the university and attacked the students from behind.

•Protestors and the police clashed.  Students started pelting stones against police. Motorbikes were set on fire.

•Tear gas was used in the boys’ hostels and the students were beaten up by lathis

September 24, around 10 am

•Holidays have been declared in the university from Monday onwards until to October 2.

•Electricity and water supply have been discontinued in hostels.

•Students were told to empty their rooms and go home before 4 pm.

•Attempts to raid six hostels in the Triveni girls’ hostel complex, five girls’ hostels in the MMV complex, and boys hostels of Birla A, B and C and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hostel for boys, have been made to empty the hostels.