On October 31, a 19-year-old college student, who was returning home from her coaching class, was gang raped in Bhopal. NDTV has previously reported that the college student was ambushed at around 7:00 pm and raped by four men near the Habibganj Railway station, one of the busiest parts of the city. The four men reportedly took tea and tobacco breaks while raping the student for three hours.
A week on, the Madhya Pradesh government has responded to the public furore by ordering coaching centres to not hold classes after 8 pm.
Even though it is the state's obligation to ensure that public spaces are safe for women, the government has decreed that coaching centres that don't close by 8:00 pm will be responsible for safety of the female students.
"We have decided to direct all coaching centres to wind up their business not later than 8pm. If they refuse to do so, they will be held responsible for their girl students' safety after 8pm," School Education Minister Deepak Joshi told the media on Monday.
Joshi said that coaching centres will also be asked to develop an an app with an SOS and location-tracking system for students.
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