With the rise in incidents of crime reported from the JNU campus, the university's Security Cell is beefing up security.

Every summer the number of visitors to the sprawling 1200 square acre campus shoots up. People living in adjoining Munirka Village, Safdurjung Development Area, Hauz Khas and Vasant Vihar visit the campus late in the evenings for walks. But along with the harmless visitors come drunken youths.

A number of private cars were found parked at various points on the campus when this reporter visited the place late on Sunday night. Most outsiders visit the Parthasarathy Rocks located in the JNU campus. It is the highest point in Delhi and offers a spectacular view of the Qutub Minar and the Lotus Temple located in south Delhi. The area is unlit and both couples from campus and trespassers frequent the rocks. ``Every week we catch drunken people driving at break-neck speed through the campus. They assume our campus is for everyone to visit at will. But they are in for surprise,'' says JNU security consultant Dipanjon Chakraborty. Due to the rising incidents of speeding, car stereo thefts and recovery of unidentified bodies from the campus, the JNU Security Cell is introducing new schemes.

There are four official entry and exit points to the campus: North gate, East gate, Saraswatipuram and Paschimabad gates. Apart from these four gates, JNU shares two gates with the Indian Council for Social Science Research and the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. At present, there are only 96 guards stationed at various points in the campus as against the sanctioned strength of 134.

The new proposal includes appointment of 20-25 ex-army men to guard the campus. ``Many of the guards who are on duty now are not trained to respond to a crisis immediately. However, we hope that ex-army men would be quick in their response to a crisis,'' says a security officer.

The biggest challenge to the security personnel, however, is ensuring protection to JNU-ites who roam around in the campus late into the night. None of the JNU hostels close at night and the dhabas remain open till the early hours. Despite rising crime in the Capital, the students are not willing to give up their freedom.

``Why should my girl friend and I stop taking late night walks just because the law and order situation in the Capital is bad? It is the duty of the JNU Security Cell to ensure our safety,'' says a Social Sciences student.

To meet the demands of the student, the JNU Security Cell is making arrangements to station a supervisor and two security guards at `sensitive points' on the campus. The supervisior will be provided with a walkie-talkie and will be in constant touch with the headquarters. The sensitive points have been identified as the Parthasarathy Rocks, the T-junction near East gate and the lean roads on campus.

The cell is also introducing a token system to streamline the entry and exit of cars from the campus. ``We want to give a message to all the drunk Romeos who trespass into our campus -- this time, not only JNU security personnel but police control room vans will chase you around. We have entered into an understanding with the police,'' says security consultant Chakraborty.