The Pune City Police has officially launched an extensive year-long roadmap aimed at enhancing campus safety and discipline across educational institutions in the city. This initiative comes in response to growing concerns about student misconduct including drunk driving incidents, drug abuse, cyber security threats, and women's safety issues.
Comprehensive Safety Initiative Timeline
Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar unveiled the ambitious plan during the 'Secure Horizons in Education 2025' event. The program, which represents a collaborative effort between educational institutes and various police departments, commenced immediately and will continue through December 2026 in its initial phase.
The implementation schedule includes multiple focused campaigns throughout the coming year:
The initiative begins with immediate preparations, including the nomination of student ambassadors from colleges and a comprehensive three-day orientation workshop scheduled for November and December 2025.
January and February 2026 will witness the observance of Road Safety Week in partnership with traffic police authorities. This segment will feature more than 100 street performances across Pune to raise awareness about traffic safety.
March and April will focus on Gender Safety and Sensitisation through collaboration with the Women's Safety Cell. The program will establish safety circles and conduct specialized workshops.
Addressing Critical Student Issues
June and July will see the implementation of the 'Say No To Drugs' campaign in coordination with the Anti-Narcotics Cell, featuring city-level competitions to engage student participation.
August and September are designated as Mental Health Month, organized with mental health professionals. This phase will introduce peer listening corners to support student wellbeing.
October will concentrate on Cyber Safety Activities through the police cyber cell, including comprehensive campus cyber audits to identify and address digital security vulnerabilities.
The program concludes with evaluation and award ceremonies in November, followed by expansion planning and mentoring activities in December. A new cohort strategy will also be developed during the final month.
Learning from Past Incidents
Commissioner Kumar emphasized that numerous student discipline cases had tarnished Pune's reputation, specifically referencing the Pune Porsche case, college fresher's party incidents, the Kharadi drug party, and the Moze Engineering College paper leak scandal.
"These various instances over the last one to one-and-a-half years demonstrate our current situation and whether we truly deserve Pune's 'Oxford of the East' designation," Kumar stated during his address.
He further elaborated on the need to address these concerning issues that have caused significant dismay among Pune residents, emphasizing the importance of reinventing the city's educational prestige.
Regarding the notorious Porsche case, Kumar highlighted critical parental responsibility failures. "Parents supported their child by swapping blood samples. What ethical standing would such parents have to guide their child about right and wrong behavior?" he questioned, underscoring the crucial role of parents and guardians in student discipline.
The Porsche case reference pertains to the May 2024 drunk driving accident where a minor, son of a prominent city builder, driving an unregistered Porsche under alcohol influence, caused a fatal crash in Kalyani Nagar that killed two individuals.
The launch event saw participation from teacher and student representatives of numerous educational institutions including Savitribai Phule Pune University, Fergusson College, Symbiosis International University, MIT-WPU, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Annasaheb Magar College, Jadhavar College, and SNDT College.
