India, March 1 -- What was meant to be an evening of musical crescendo on day 2 of the annual cultural fest of Delhi University's Deen Dayal Upadhyay College, Kalrav, instead descended into hours of chaos and ruckus outside the campus in Dwarka Sector 3 on Friday.

With singer Mohit Chauhan scheduled to perform in the evening, thousands of students began gathering as early as 1pm. By early evening, the situation had escalated with barricades being used to seal the entrances, police personnel forming human chains, and loudspeaker announcements urging students to disperse as the campus was filled to its capacity. Videos circulating online show police compelled to use lathis to control the crowd as some attendees attempted to climb gates, be...