Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Is it really funny?


I came to know that recently released movie 3 Idiots has a scene on ragging, shown in a lighter sense. This is director Raj Kumar Hirani's second film, first being Munnabhai MBBS, where ragging has been used as a theme to make the audience laugh.

Today I tried surfing on net to find the details of this ragging scene and came across several hundred blogs and websites where this scene was immensely appreciated and was considered one of the most humorous scenes in the film.


I find this extremely shocking as hardly 9 months back, when a medical student died because of ragging, the entire nation stood as one and we all condemned this menace. However today it seems we have forgotten the tragedy perhaps too soon that we are trying to find humor in that same tragic issue.


This not only shows the insensitivity towards the issue but more importantly such acts significantly add to the confusion already existing in the society vis-a-vis ragging. Millions of people, who don't know anything about ragging but have watched Munnabhai MBBS, still remember the scene from this film and believe that ragging is all about dance and fun.

This act of glorifying ragging by showing it in lighter way in films, newspapers, etc. does nothing but strengthens the justification, which students give to support ragging.


Here I am not suggesting of censorship usually advocated by social activists. I believe that censorship must come from within, by the call of conscience. Nevertheless, we all know that film is always considered as reflection of society and what film does reflect in this case is our poor understanding and thus lack of sensitivity with regard to the issue of ragging.

I remember, in June this year I was watching We the People on NDTV 24X7, the discussion was on evils of ragging. However, as usual the discussion soon turned into a debate on mild ragging versus no ragging and surprisingly majority of the participants justified mild ragging for ice-breaking between students.

It is needless to explain here that all the tragic cases of ragging started only in their milder forms. We cannot define what is mild ragging. Stripping or dancing in public may be fun for someone but extreme trauma for others. Moreover I fail to understand the logic of holding a week long ragging mela to facilitate mass friendship-something which is extremely amusing and sounds like a forced friendship crash course.

I doubt we would even think of having a debate on mild terrorism or mild caste system. Similarly I doubt any film director would be so insensitive to try to extract humor from sensitive social issues like Sati or Dowry.

We need to ask ourselves that why there is still so much ambiguity about social issue like ragging. Why does the society still see ragging as fun? Have we made enough efforts to sensitize people about the evils of ragging?


I strongly believe that we are yet to establish ragging as a social evil and unless we address this fundamental problem, we will always find it difficult to implement the laws framed to contain ragging.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Seven students suspended in Uttar Pradesh for ragging

Lucknow, Nov 28 : Seven students of a government-run polytechnic in Uttar Pradesh have been suspended for ragging their juniors by forcing them to strip, consume alcohol and lick the ground, officials said Saturday.

The seven students of the Government Polytechnic, Dilgaon in Pilibhit district, some 250 km from here, were suspended following a preliminary enquiry that was initiated on a complaint registered by three juniors Friday with the college authorities, officials of the polytechnic said.

In their complaint, the three first year students pursuing a course in electronics trade alleged that the third year students had ragged them on campus Thursday and Friday.

According to them, the seven seniors -- Prem Kumar, Amit Singh, Hariom Pandey, Arun Kumar, Arvind Kumar, Sandeep Kumar and Surabh Awasthi -- assaulted them with iron rods, made them strip, roll on the floor and lick the ground.

The college's acting principal A.K. Saxena said the seven had been suspended.

"All of them have been placed under suspension. They may even be rusticated for their violent behaviour towards the junior students," Saxena told reporters.

--IANS

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Ragging continues despite SC strictures

Ashish Tripathi, TNN 24 November 2009, 01:58am IST

LUCKNOW: Strict Supreme Court strictures and state government anti-ragging law making the act a cognizable offence has failed to deter seniors from ragging. In yet another incident of ragging, a first semester girl student of the bachelor of journalism and mass communication, was severely ragged for days and assaulted allegedly by two seniors when she reported the matter to college management. A senior who came to her rescue was also thrashed mercilessly. The management has expelled the two seniors from the hostel and has ordered an inquiry.

The victims are students of the Modern Girls College of Professional Studies (MGCPS), a private college affiliated to the Lucknow University. According to reports, the girl, Sadhana (name changed) was being ragged continuously by her two seniors -- one second year student of bachelor of computer science and the other a second year student of bachelor of business administration. The victim belongs to Moradabad and stays in the hostel. The seniors were also said to be residents of the same hostel. The duo used to barge into the room of the junior, talk to her in abusive language and force her to perform some obscene acts.

When the `torture' became unbearable, the victim lodged a complaint with the college administration on November 19. As the management started probing into the matter, the two seniors retaliated by assaulting the complainant. Another senior, also a student of bachelor of journalism and mass communication, was also beaten up when she came for the victim's rescue. The medical examination of Sadhana showed that she suffered serious head injury resulting in internal bleeding after her head was banged against the wall. The senior who came to her rescue has suffered limb injuries. Students told TOI that both the victims are still terrified.

When contacted, college director, Rajiv Tuli confirmed action against the two accused seniors. He said that the parents of the two seniors have also been informed about the misconduct of their wards. "We have issued show cause notices to the two accused seniors to give them an opportunity for defence in consonance with the principle of natural justice. Further action will be taken, which might include rustication from the college, after the inquiry is complete," he said. College authorities have also assured other freshers not to be afraid of seniors and report any matter related to ragging without hesitation.

Over a dozen cases of severe ragging have been reported in UP this year. At least two students committed suicide after being ragged brutally. The state government took a serious view of the fact and promulgated the Prevention of Ragging in Educational Institutions Ordinance, 2009, on October 14. The law has made ragging a cognizable offence and is applicable in all the higher education institutes, including professional colleges, both government and private, across the state. It includes Supreme Court's directions which make it mandatory for the institutions to lodge an FIR against accused, besides their expulsion.

* November 6, 2009: 28 students were expelled from Uday Pratap College in Varanasi for ragging their juniors and indulging in violence.

* October 31, 2009: Six students of a private dental college in Gorakhpur booked for allegedly ragging a junior by singeing him with cigarettes.

* October 29, 2009: Two students of a government-run polytechnic institute in Lakhimpur district were booked for ragging and beating juniors.

* September 17, 2009: Murder case lodged against seniors after a girl student of a private engineering college committed suicide due to ragging.

* September 15, 2009: Four engineering students of Benaras Hindu University booked for beating juniors and making them dance like male strippers.

* September 7, 2009: Nursing students complain of ragging in BHU, leading to action against seniors who ragged in the name of teaching `manners'.

* July 30, 2009: 10 students in Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi, caught ragging fined Rs 50,000 and FIRs were lodged.

* July 28, 2009: 19 girl students fined for ragging freshers at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh.

Study shows practice is far from being subdued
Justify Full
A study released in July showed that the ugly practice of ragging is far from being subdued in spite of Supreme Court directives. In one year, the country witnessed 88 cases of ragging of which 12 were fatal. Andhra Pradesh is the worst affected. Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 12 ragging cases, followed by West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh with ten each and Punjab eight. In the previous year, number of cases was 89 out of which 11 resulted in deaths and there were 5 attempted suicides.

Ragging reported from Alappuzha Medical College

Thursday, 19.11.2009, 01:53am (GMT)


Ambalappuzha: The first year students of Alappuzha Medical College have been ragged by the second years. The ragging was done on Monday night and Tuesday day time. It was done by the second year students who lingered about in the hostel, although their second year examination was over.
The incident came to light when a student’s face exposed marks of beating with hand on his cheek. Some students were forced to cut their hair. When the victims dared to report the matter to the authorities the college union intimidated them and forced them to settle the scores among themselves.
The anti-ragging squad in the college has also started its enquiry. The principal however said that she had not received any complaint so far.

Three engineering college students held for ragging

Hyderabad, Nov 17 (PTI) Three students of an engineering college were arrested for alleged ragging in college premises at Ibrahimpatnam on city's outskirts today, police said.

The trio, second-year students of B Tech at a private college, was taken into custody after one of the victims lodged a complaint with Ibrahimpatnam police, they said.

According to the complainant, six senior students used to demand money from five junior students for buying recharge vouchers for their mobile phones, a police officer told PTI.

"Demanding money the seniors allegedly beat their juniors on November 12," the officer said, adding they have arrested three students and were inquiring on the involvement of three others.

The arrested students were sent to judicial custody after being produced before a court, he said.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Three Andhra medicos get jail term for ragging juniors

TNN 13 November 2009, 03:53am IST

VIJAYAWADA: In a landmark, first-of-its-kind judgment in Andhra Pradesh, a Vijayawada court on Thursday sentenced three MBBS students to one-year imprisonment for ragging a junior student. The three are presently working as house surgeons at Siddartha Government Medical College's general hospital and in the last leg of their MBBS course.

First additional chief metropolitan magistrate K Satyanarayana said the prosecution had proved the charges against the three and slapped a Rs 1,000 fine each on them apart from the jail term. He, however, suspended the judgment for a month to enable them to move a higher court.

The three — Nella Venkata Chalapathi, Chittimalla Ramprasad and Mosham Suresh — had harassed a student, K Satish, on the college campus in July 2007. Suresh lodged a complaint against them on July 13, 2007. The police investigated the matter and filed a chargesheet under AP Prevention of Ragging Act (1997).

Cases of ragging against nine students

Erode (TN) Nov 12 (PTI) Cases of ragging have been filed against nine senior students of a private polytechnic college here and the principal of the institute for not taking any action against them.

Police said as per the direction of the Madras High Court, cases were registered yesterday against the students for ragging a junior from Kerala and against the principal of the college at Thookanaickkenpalayam for not taking action.

Abijith's father had filed a petition in the court a week back, stating that police had not taken any action against the students who ragged his son.

The court had instructed the Erode police to initiate action against the students and the principal.

Ragging: police file case against two students

Wednesday, 11.11.2009, 01:34am (GMT)

Thrissur: Two medical students have been charged with ragging as they were found guilty of ragging junior students of Amala Medical College. The case has been registered against MBBS students of 2005 Ajith Jose and Isham. These students have been suspended from the college.


They had ragged some junior students in the reading room of the college and outside. Later they misbehaved to them recently too. Following this the students who were being harassed complained to the principal. The principal referred the case to the police.

Friday, November 06, 2009

College girl leaps to death due to ragging

Hyderabad, Nov 5: Hardly before people could forget the tragic end of a woman boxer in the city,in another pathetic incident,a college girl jumped to death from her college building, allegedly due to ragging.

According to the police,Anusha,a II year degree student of the Villa Mary College in Somajiguda here has jumped from the III floor of the college building and died on the spot.

Her family members have alleged that Anusha was subjected to ragging by four students of the college and the college management has not taken any action against the miscreants despite several complaints. Anusha's mother said that the victim had told her about the harassment only on Thursday morning and she had assured her that she would come to the college and talk to the principal.Tears rolling down,she said that she had not expected her daughter to resort to this extreme step even before she could talk to the college authorities.

Immediately after the incident, the college management locked the gates and did not allow any media person inside.Anusha's body was sent to the Gandhi Hospital for postmortem.

Reacting to the bizarre incident, the authorities of the Board of Higher Education ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Anusha's relatives complained to the police that she told them that her classmates, Amruta, Iswarya, Nishita and Nikhita have been harassing her. Based on their complaint, the Punjagutta police said that they registered a case and started investigation into the allegation of the relatives.

Relatives are stating that Anusha was a sensitive girl. However, they said that they never thought that she would resort to the extreme step. When she complained about her classmates, they said that they thought it was a problem between friends and would subside by itself. The relatives said she stopped going to the college for some time and started again to go to the college only a few days ago. She has complained that the harassment has become more after that.

Meanwhile, the College authorities claimed that Anusha never complained of ragging or harassment to them.

28 students expelled for ragging juniors

Varanasi, Nov 6 (PTI) Twenty-eight students were expelled from a college here for ragging their juniors and indulging in violence in September.

The decision was taken by the anti-ragging committee of the Uday Pratap Autonomous college here.

Notices were served to the students yesterday asking them to take their transfer certificate from the college office by November 15, Gulab Singh, the spokesman of the college said.

Two of the students, who were charged with instigating the violence, Jang Bahadur Singh and Piyush Singh, have been expelled for life time while 13 students, who participated in violent incidents, have been expelled for two academic sessions- 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. He said 13 others were expelled for one semester.

On September 16, first year students were beaten by the seniors at their hostel for complaining against them.

The senior students also ransacked the hostel, damaged furniture and books.

Nine students suspended for ragging

Indore, Nov 5 (PTI) Nine BBA students of Devi Ahilya University in the city have been suspended for allegedly ragging their juniors, authorities said here today.

The students were suspended on charges of mentally harassing their juniors, Director of the varsity's Institute of Management Studies (IMS), P K Gupta said, adding all the nine students are enrolled in the BBA course.

The administration has ordered a inquiry into the incident by the Anti-Ragging Committee, which will submit its report within three days, he said.

Yet another student ragged in a city college

New Delhi, Nov 5 (PTI) Barely a few days after three students of a prominent college here were penalised in a ragging case, a first year BA student of another city college was allegedly ragged today by two of his seniors.

Mohammed Naved, 18, a resident of Ghaziabad was allegedly subjected to ragging when he was going to the rest room in Shyam Lal college, police said.

Though no FIR has been filed in this matter, Naved has informally complained to the police.

According to police, Naved was going to the rest room in the morning when accused Deepak Kumar and Mohammed Dilshad, both students of second-year BA, stopped him and beat him up.

Police are questioning the seniors on the issue.

This incident comes barely a few days after two students were expelled and another rusticated from Kirori Mal college for allegedly ragging a junior at the hostel.

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Five booked for ragging

Lucknow, Nov 4 (IANS) Five students of a government-run polytechnic in Uttar Pradesh have been booked for ragging and torturing a junior, leading to his hospitalization, police said Wednesday.

Pawan Kumar, pursuing his first year civil engineering diploma from Rajkiya Polytechnic in Gorakhpur district, about 300 km from Lucknow, was assaulted by his seniors on the campus Tuesday.

A group of students directed Kumar to polish their shoes. They also told him to smoke a cigarette. Irked by his refusal, they assaulted him. Kumar suffered head and ear injuries, a police officer said.

“A case has been registered against five senior students,” police inspector R.K. Singh told reporters. “They are absconding.”

D.N. Singh, principal of the polytechnic, told IANS: “The issue is quite serious. We have initiated an enquiry. Strict action will be taken against the students. They might be even expelled.”

4 students suspended in ragging case

Puducherry, Nov 3 : Four students of the Vivekananda Government Higher Secondary School at Villianur near here were suspended today for allegedly ragging another student last week.

Sridhar (16), a plus-one student of the school, was undressed and ragged by a group of students on October 30. Later, he escaped the scene and informed his parents, who lodged a complaint with Public Health Minister A Namasivayam, who visited the school on that day.

The school authorities then informed the Minister that the disciplinary committee of the school would take appropriate action on the issue.

Accordingly, the committee identified four students involved in the ragging and suspended them. They were Manosundar, Srinivasan, Vikramadithan and Sredhar.

Further action would be initiated in consultation with the education department officials, School Vice Principal Ezhil told newspersons.

--UNI

Puri drowning: Kin cry foul

TNN 2 November 2009, 03:53am IST

KALYANI: The family of Arindam Haldar, who was washed away, along with two others, while bathing in the sea on Saturday, has cried foul, alleging that he was ragged by his seniors.

Arindam's brother, Aniruddha, went to Purbasthali police station in Nadia on Sunday to file an FIR on his brother's death, but police refused to lodge a complaint. "My elder brother was a victim of ragging. We went to lodge a complaint with the Purbasthali police, but they refused to receive it," Aniruddha said.

Aniruddha said that as his brother was afraid of water, it was unlikely that he had gone to bathe in the sea of is own will. "He was afraid even to take bath in a pond," Aniruddha said. "He was ragged and taken to the sea by force. It is a case of murder. He used to face ragging in his hostel occasionally and would inform us at home. But we are not rich enough to have afforded to shift him elsewhere to avoid ragging in the college hostel."

Kalyani Engineering College Principal K K Chakraborty said, however, that the college authorities had never received any complaint about ragging on campus. "Though the Puri trip was not arranged by the college, the authorities were aware of it. It is a common practice for students to go on a tour when they get leave for a few days," he said. About 100 students of the college hostel had gone to Puri on Thursday.

"The students left Puri on Sunday and will be back within 12 hours," Chakraborty said. "The three bodies are also being brought back to their respective homes. Our first priority now is to bring back the other boys safely to the hostel."

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Six students booked for ragging in Uttar Pradesh

October 31st, 2009 - 1:05 pm ICT by IANS

Lucknow, Oct 31 (IANS) Six students of a private dental college in Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur district have been booked for allegedly ragging a junior by singeing him with cigarettes and hitting him with glass bottles, police said Saturday.


Amit Kumar, a first year BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) student in the Poorvanchal Institute of Medical Science in Gorakhpur, about 300 km from here, has alleged that six of his seniors forced him to drink liquor and assaulted him when he protested and refused to follow their instructions.

“According to Kumar, the seniors used to barge inside his hostel room to abuse him physically. In the last few days, the seniors had become more violent,” police inspector Gajendra Kumar Rai told IANS.

A criminal case has been registered against the six under various sections of the Indian Penal Code after Kumar’s father approached police Friday evening, he added.

Kumar told police that he had approached the college authorities several times to register a complaint of ragging but was ignored.

“This brings the staff of the institute also under the scanner. While the six students are absconding, we may detain officials of the institute to probe into the case,” said Rai.

College director Tara Chand told reporters: “At our own level also, we have initiated an inquiry into the case. Strict action would be taken against the students involved in the incident.”

Two Uttar Pradesh polytechnic students complain of ragging

October 29th, 2009 - 5:53 pm ICT by IANS

Lucknow, Oct 29 (IANS) Two students of a government-run polytechnic institute in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur district Thursday alleged physical abuse and ragging by their seniors.


Vimal Singh and Surendra Prasad - both first year students of a diploma course in pharmacy from the Naurangabad-Rajapur Polytechnic in Lakhimpur, around 100 km from Lucknow, alleged that their seniors forced them to dance without clothes and beat them up when they protested.

“They (senior students) don’t rag us on the campus, but come to our private hostel rooms, where they physically abuse us and make us perform like a male stripper,” Singh told reporters in Lakhimpur, showing the injury marks on his arms.

“After barging into our room, the seniors also force us to smoke and drink liquor. They also pressurise us to do obscene dances,” he added.

In their complaint, the two students have alleged that their seniors forcibly take money from them and even use their mobile phones, clothes and other items.

“To days ago, three of my seniors forcibly took Rs.1,000 from my wallet kept inside the cupboard. When I protested, they started kicking me and threatened me of dire consequences if I told anybody about the incident,” said Prasad.

Officials at the institute have assured strict action against the culprits.

“I would only like to say that stern action would be taken against the senior students involved in the ragging,” the polytechnic’s principal Surendra Prasad told reporters.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Six students of Gaur university booked for ragging

Sagar (MP), Oct 28 (PTI) A first year student of law was allegedly ragged by six senior students of Hari Singh Gour University here, police said.

"We have received a ragging complaint from Apoorv Shukla, a first year student of LLB course, which is being looked into seriously," Varsity Joint Proctor Prof. U S Gupta told PTI.

In his complaint, Apoorv has said that while he was sitting in front of the law department, his seniors Rajkumar and five others asked him to stand up to respect them and thrashed him.

"We have registered a case against Rajkumar and five others on the complaint of Apoorv for beating him," Civil Lines Area City Superintendent of Police (CSP) Dinesh Koushal said.

This is the second case of alleged ragging being reported from the university in last three months.

3 physiotherapy students arrested for 'ragging' juniors

Tiruchirappalli (TN), Oct 27 (PTI) Three students of the Government College of Physiotherapy here were arrested today for allegedly ragging and beating up three first year students, police said.

They were arrested following a complaint by college authorities, they said.

On a complaint by the father of one of the victims P.

Sankar, Dean of the K A P Viswanathan Government Medical College, also the in-charge of the physiotherapy college, conducted an inquiry and found that the senior students, all hostelers, had harassed and beaten up the freshers yesterday.

The arrested students have been suspended, college officials said.

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Four medicos arrested in ragging case

Coimbatore, Oct 24 (PTI) Four medical college students have been arrested for allegedly ragging 14 second-year students at the institute's hostel here, police said.

The fourth-year students were taken into custody last night following a complaint by Dean and Principal of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, Dr Kumaran.

According to the complaint, they allegedly made the men's hostel inmates sing, bite a student and enact swimming actions on the floor, police said.

The four -- two from Dharmapuri, one from Krishnagiri and another from Mettur in Tamil Nadu -- were remanded in judicial custody, police said.

College students suspended from hostel for alleged ragging

Puducherry Oct 24 The management of the Puducherry Engineering College has suspended 11 senior students from the hostel for alleged ragging and `indiscipline`.

A top college official told PTI today that there were reports that a section of senior students in the hostel had clashed with some juniors as a result of ragging in the hostel yesterday.

The hostel authorities had taken immediate step to suspend the seniors to restore discipline.

Making it clear that the senior students were suspended from the hostel only, the official said only after enquiry through a committee would any course of action be decided. He maintained that the college would brook no indiscipline in the institution.

Source: PTI

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Bihar college fines student for ragging

Ians
October 14th, 2009

PATNA - Authorities of a Bihar engineering college have imposed a fine of Rs.20,000 on a student and have withdrawn his scholarship for ragging freshers, an official said Wednesday.

Bhagalpur engineering college administration imposed a fine on Indrajeet Kumar and withdrew his scholarship and hostel facility after he was found involved in ragging freshers, acting principal of the college B.K. Choudhary said.

Indrajeet is a second year student of computer science in the college in Bhagalpur district.

In another engineering college in Muzaffarpur district, the Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology, police have lodged a complaint against three students for ragging and assaulting a fresher.

The institute’s acting principal A.K. Mishra said second year students forced new girl students to kiss boys as part of ragging and thrashed a student who opposed them.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Student volunteers take up case against ragging

Jatin Anand, Hindustan Times

New Delhi, October 11, 2009

There was something different about the screening of Anarth: In the name of Education by CURE (the Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education) at Delhi Public School, R.K Puram, on Sunday.

The 30-minute film and the hour-long interaction after it did more than merely condemn the practice, providing figures about ragging-related deaths and legislative punishments related to the offense.

It was an attempt by members of the student community to sensitise civil society about the psychological and emotional after-effects that students suffer from because of physical and sexual oppression in the guise of ragging at the hands of their seniors.

“There are thousands of students who suffer silently; they are helpless and never come out in the open. This film is an effort to bring this suffering to the notice of the society,” said Varun Aggarwal, Co-founder, CURE.

“I think it is a big step that the students have taken to educate the society about this menace through this film,” he said.

Created by three student volunteers from the Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology, the film was based on the interviews of two victims who described what they went through during their first years in a medical college, before drawing parallels with the kind of abuse faced by their friends at other colleges.

In addition to questioning why ragging still existed and what restricted freshers from reporting abuse to college authorities, the gathering also attempted to address the retributive character of ragging.

“It’s a vicious cycle and fits many parameters of the dreaded Stockholm Syndrome,” said Harsh Aggarwal, CO-founder, CURE. “In most cases, not only has the victim has turned into the perpetrator but also ended up respecting the latter as a result of sustained abuse.”

A short film "Anarth" on ragging screened: By the students, for the society

Punjab Newsline Network
Monday, 12 October 2009

NEW DELHI: Often, the death of a social evil is initiated, when the suffering community itself takes the first steps in uprooting the evil. This has started to happen in the case of ragging. Three students from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology have come up with a short film on ragging to sensitize the civil society about this problems which students are facing across the country.

The film, "Anarth: In the name of Education" was released on 11th October, which is observed as the Nationwide No Ragging Day. Four years back, Amit Sahai, a student at NIT Jalandhar killed himself by jumping in front of a train due to brutal ragging.

The film was screened at the auditorium at Delhi Public School, RK Puram at 11am on 11th October by CURE: Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (www.noragging.com). More than hundred people from all wakes of life including parents, teachers, professionals and students attended the screening. A 2-minutes silence was observed in the beginning of the event in respect of all who lost their lives due to ragging and many others who are suffering. Dr. Saini, Principal, DPS (RK Puram) addressed the audience for a short while describing the various practical steps taken by the school to make hostels absolutely ragging-free.

The audience saw the 35 minute movie with rapt attention. The movie showed interview of two ragging victims who narrated their tale of horror on camera. They also discussed the apathy of the college authorities, how their friends at other campuses suffered and how the anti-ragging squad was totally ineffective. The movie showed statistics that the number of reported cases of ragging has increased dramatically after the supreme court judgment. Finally, the movie talked about how through a ‘call of conscience' the menace of ragging can be controlled.

The movie was followed by an Open House, where audience participated in a question-answer session. A faculty member from NSIT (Delhi), Dr. Duru Arun Kumar pointed towards the responsibility of the faculty in curbing ragging and how they should play an active role to curb the menace. There was a consensus amongst the group that the film should be shown in each and every college of the country to sensitize students against the menace. Many from the audience stated that they did not know that ragging could be that bad and so many people have suffered due to it.

Bhavesh, Akshay and Abhinav, the creators of the video are volunteers for CURE: Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (http://www.noragging.com/) and started working on the video six months back. The thirty minutes film is based on the interview of two students, who faced continuous ragging at their college, but never disclosed it to anyone including their parents. The interviews were shot by Sukanksha and Vaibhav, who are also students and volunteers with CURE.

"If one scans through the number of ragging incidents that have taken place in the last two months, they will be shocked. The numbers are as high as those reported in the last complete one year. Despite all judgments, the problem is here to stay and we need a call to conscience to end this problem", says Harsh Agarwal, Co-founder, CURE.

The final message of the film is that espoused by the Mahatma, "We can be the change". This film indeed can be the change.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

SHRC registers case against ragging

First Published : 10 Oct 2009 02:00:00 AM IST
Last Updated :

Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has registered a suo moto case on Friday against the alleged ragging in College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET).

The case was registered on the basis of a newspaper report.

Commission member Justice Lakshmikuty Amma has directed the City Police Commissioner, District Collector, Engineering College principal and the hostel warden to inquire into the incident and submit a report within a week.

5 engineering students held for ragging

First Published : 10 Oct 2009 10:04:05 AM IST
Last Updated :
Express News Service

WARANGAL: Five engineering students of Varada Reddy Engineering College in Annasagar village of Hasanparthy mandal in Warangal district were arrested on the charges of ragging a junior student. The incident which occurred ten days ago, came to light after the college principal lodged a complaint with the police today.

About 10 days ago, a first year engineering student who was allegedly ragged by his seniors, lodged a complaint with the college principal Ramana Rao accusing five senior students of the college - Abhinav, Lakshman Rao, Venkateswara Reddy, Padmanabha Rao and Prasanth - of ragging him. The college principal probed into the incident and suspended all the five students holding them responsible for ragging their junior student.

However, the senior students launched an agitation demanding lifting of their suspension. Irked over the behaviour of the senior students, the principal Ramana Rao today approached the police and lodged a complaint. THe police arrested all the five students and will produce them before the court tomorrow.

The college students boycotted classes and demanded the management to withdraw the cases against the senior students.

Three suspended for Haldia ragging

HALDIA: Three engineering students of Haldia Institute of Technology (HIT) were suspended on Friday for ragging a junior, Subharthi Bhattacharya.

The victim's mother, Malati, claims he was beaten with belts and kicked for three hours in the HIT hostel.

Subharthi, a production engineering student, has been admitted to Bangur hospital with injuries all over his body. He lives in Jadavpur's Chittaranjan Colony.

"The institute set up an inquiry committee, which found that the three students named by Subharthi's mother had indeed ragged him," said registrar Anjan Misra.

Friday, October 09, 2009

Ragging claims life of student

Tamluk (WB), Oct 9 (PTI) Unable to bear the humiliation of ragging, a student of a technical college in Howrah district committed suicide at his house here today.

Ayan Adak, a student of the pharmacy department of the Uluberia Calcutta Institute of Pharmaceuticals Technology, hanged himself from the ceiling of the cowshed adjacent to his house at Alinan village in East Midnapore district, the police said.

The traumatised boy was admitted to Uluberia hospital after he was subjected to repeated physical and mental abuse and returned home yesterday, the OC of Tamluk police station, Subhankar Dey, said.

Dey said this morning the student talked to his father about shifting to another college but an hour later he took his own life.

The police has sent the body for post-mortem.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Man hangs self day after lover jumps to death

October 7th, 2009

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - A 25-year-old teacher hung himself here Wednesday evening, officials said. The incident comes a day after a girl who college authorities said was the man’s lover committed suicide by jumping off the fourth floor of her college building.

Sanooj hung himself in his home here Wednesday, a day after Greeshma Shanker, who is believed to have been his lover, died after jumping off the fourth floor of the CSI Medical College in the city suburbs.

After the incident, Shanker’s father Sashidharan had alleged that his daughter was subjected to ragging and hence took her life.

Wednesday morning several student organisations had marched to the college demanding action against the college authorities and also clashed with the police who prevented them from entering the college premises.

The college authorities, however, maintained that no ragging had taken place and instead said that the cause of her death was a love affair.

Hospital director Bennet Abraham told reporters that the girl had joined the course less than a week back and no ragging had taken place.

“The girl had a love affair and she had shown messages to her classmates that she received on her mobile from her lover. We have now given her mobile to the police,” said Abraham.

The last message believed to be from Sanooj came at 6.15 p.m. Tuesday evening and soon after the girl jumped from the building.

State Education Minister M.A. Baby told the media that a detailed probe would be conducted into the matter.

Youth Congress ransacks hostel over student's ragging

PTI 7 October 2009, 02:22pm IST

AHMEDABAD: The Youth Congress (YC) workers today allegedly ransacked office of the Mahavir Jain Boys Hostel in the Paldi area here following an incident of alleged ragging, police said here.

A group of 10-15 people from the YC entered the hostel premises shouted slogans against the warden, ransacked his office and broke some glass windows and furniture, they added. No arrests have been made in this regard and further investigation in the matter was on, police said.

Nirav Bakshi, president of the Youth Congress, Ahmedabad (west) told PTI that they were protesting against ragging of a student living in the hostel.

"We are against any kind of ragging in colleges and hostels. We cannot allow this in the land of Mahatma Gandhi. We lodged our protest and demanded action against the guilty as the warden had not taken any action," Bakshi added.

The victim Pinkal Shah a student of GLS BBA college was allegedly ragged by some senior students of L D Engineering college, who were living in the same hostel.

Shah was beaten up by a group of engineering students last night, following which he had complained to the hostel warden, they said.

He later registered a complaint with the Ellisbridge police station against the engineering students, police said, adding that investigation in the matter was on.

"Anarth: In the Name of Education": A short-film on ragging

As you know, CURE has been working for the last 8 years in its small ways to uproot the menace of ragging. This year, with an aim to sensitize the civil society about ragging, CURE has produced a short film on ragging based on the interviews of two students who faced brutal ragging at their campus. The film has been created by three students of Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology and is an effort by the student community to educate the society about this menace.

The film will be released on 11th October, which is observed as the Nationwide No Ragging Day. Four years back, Amit Sahai, a student at NIT Jalandhar killed himself by jumping in front of a train due to brutal ragging.

We would like to invite you, your family and friends for this short film. We shall really appreciate your participation in this event and your concern for this issue.

********************************************************************
Release of "Anarth: In the Name of Education":
A short-film on ragging, 35 minutes
Trailer of movie: http://tinyurl.com/anarth-preview

Date: 11th October, 2009
Time: 10:45am
Venue: Auditorium, Delhi Public School, R. K. Puram
********************************************************************

I look forward to receiving you at the venue on 11th October. You may feel free to contact us for any questions or concerns. Please note, that your participation will not only give impetus to our struggle against ragging, but serve as an encouragement for the young minds who have made this short film.

Kindly mail us at anarth@noragging.com to confirm your participation or call at.

PS: The program for the event is attached below.



Program:
11:15am: Light Tea
11:30am: Screening of movie
12:05: Open House
12:25: Introduction to Film Creators and closing remarks.

Thanks,

CURE Team

BGSU suspends 9 students for ragging juniors

News Agency of kashmir 10/7/2009 11:01:41 PM

Rajouri Oct 07 (NAK) Probably first time in the history of educational institution management of Jammu and Kashmir, 9 students were today suspended by the Ghulam Shah Badshah University on the charges of ragging their juniors.

Taking lead in implementing anti ragging UGC’s strictures, Ghulam Shah Badshah University authority’s suspended 9 students after two groups of Freshers filed separate complaint that they were subjected to ragging by their seniors.

Reliable sources told News Agency of Kashmir that first student of B-tech first year held a demonstration in the campus premises to protest against ragging at the hands of their seniors.

The protesting students named 9 students who grilled some of them and forced them to strip off their clothes, they complained. The victims alleged that the seniors thrashed those who refused to obey their orders.

The University authorities took the cognizance of the incident and directed the anti ragging Squad to inquire into the matter.

After inquiring the matter, the anti-ragging squad found the named students guilty and recommended their action against them.

Endorsing the recommendations, the university authorities immediately rusticated all the nine students. (NAK)

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Student ragged at gunpoint in Meerut, taken to hospital

October 1st, 2009

LUCKNOW - Five senior students of the law department in Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district allegedly ragged and beat up a fresher at gunpoint, following which he had to be taken to a hospital, police said Thursday.

The ragging took place Wednesday on the campus, where the senior students forced Dev Singh Bhadana to stand on a chair and perform objectionable acts. When Bhadana protested, the seniors beat him black and blue after holding him at gunpoint, police said.

“Acting on a complaint registered by Bhadana’s classmates, we will soon detain the five students to inquire into the matter,” police inspector R.B. Kaul told IANS on phone.

“Stern action would be taken against all those involved in the incident. We will also question the faculty members of the varsity,” he added.

According to police, Bhadana, who is being treated at a private hospital in Meerut, is now out of danger.

Monday, September 28, 2009

Students of Maharaja’s College allege ragging, lodge FIR

DNJAI10305 | 9/27/2009 | Author : DNA Correspondent | WC :185 | Crime & Law

Two first-year students of Maharaja's College have registered FIR against a group of students following a clash on Friday. While the victims alleged the incident to be ragging, the police and the college authorities denied it.

"How can we call it ragging when all the students involved are from the same class? Rather it is a clash between two groups of students that not even happened inside the campus," said RV Singh, principal, Maharaja's College.

He said that the victims have lodged complaint with the police regarding the incident. The accused students are said to be inmates of the college's Gokhale Hostel. According to the officials at Lalkothi police station, where the complaint has been lodged, cases have been registered under section 323 and 341 of IPC.

"The victim Anil Devanda is a resident of Chaksu and had clashed with some hostellers of the same college and same class. We have registered the complaint and are carrying further investigations," said Rameshwar Dayal, sub inspector, Lalkothi police station.

According to the victim, the clash took place as the hostellers tried to teach him lessons on discipline.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Medical college student alleges ragging

TNN 19 September 2009, 11:03pm

JAMNAGAR: A postgraduate student of MP Shah Medical College has complained to the college authorities that he was ragged brutally. According to the authorities, who refused to disclose the victim's name, the student, with his parents, approached them and complained against a group of senior students who subjected him to inhuman ragging.

The victim enrolled in the college in 2003. His ordeal began when, after MBBS, he got admission in the postgraduate course. He claimed he was regularly thrashed by his tormentors. They used to wake him up by kicking him in his groin and did not let him sleep. When he tried to protest, they threatened to kill him.

Unable to bear the torture, he quit studies and returned to Ahmedabad, his parents said. "The amount of torture my son has gone through can be gauged from the fact that he wakes up suddenly in the night and starts screaming," said the victim's father.

"The allegation of ragging is serious, and considering the Supreme Court's verdict, we've taken serious note of the incident and formed a committee to investigate the matter," said a college official.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Clash over ragging, college closed indefin

Last Updated : 18 Sep 2009 07:31:38 AM IST


TIRUPUR: The Chikkanna Government Arts College was closed indefinitely on Thursday following clashes between two groups of students over ragging.

According to college sources, two days ago a first-year student, who stayed in the hostel, was rescued by a group of hostel inmates, when some senior day scholars ragged him. This led to a clash between the day scholars and the hostel inmates.

On Wednesday, a group of hostel inmates entered a bus and assaulted some day scholars. The same day, the college management dismissed a final-year student for ragging and clash.

Irked over this, a group of day scholars entered the hostel on the college premises on Thursday morning and attacked the hosteliers with wooden logs and stones. They also destroyed the doors and windows of the hostel. To control the situation, the college authorities called in the police.

Five students were injured in the clash and they were shifted to a hospital.

Meanwhile, about hundred students broke into a hostel, which is run by the Backward and Most Backward Classes Welfare Department, outside the college campus and attacked the inmates. They not only damaged the hostel property including television, water heater and books but also burnt a two-wheeler and smashed into pieces a bicycle.

By the time police reached the hostel the attackers had fled the spot. In order to prevent further clash, the college administration declared indefinite holiday for the institution.

Tirupur north police have registered a case and laun­ched a search for the students who attacked the hostel.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Student faints during ragging

Mrigank Tiwari, TNN 17 September 2009, 09:07pm IST

ALLAHABAD: Ragging continues unchecked despite directives of the Supreme Court. A student of a private engineering college become the latest victim of harrasment and physical torture at the hands of his seniors.

The victim, Bindesh Tiwari, hailing from a village in Janghai block in Jaunpur had taken admission in the college in the 2009-10 session. He was staying at the hostel.

On Tuesday evening, a group of seniors reportedly came to his room and started taking his `introduction' even as they started searching his belongings. In between the `introduction', the seniors started taunting him about his family members, leaving Bindesh distressed. Even as they continued tormenting him, one of them asked him to present a dance item.

It was at this point of time that Bindesh slumped on the floor and fell unconsicious. In the meantime, someone informed the warden and proctor who arrived on the scene and took the student to a hospital from where he was discharged after treatment. The authorities of the institute also infomed the family members of the student who also arrived to take care of Bindesh.

Reacting to the incident, his brother demanded an inquiry into the incident and strict punishment for the seniors involved in it. The family took away Bindesh back home.

The director of the institute said that arrangemnts have been made to ensure that juniors are not harrassed by seniors. On the issue of Bindesh, he said that the youth boy had a history of epilepsy and during the course of interaction with the seniors he suffered an attack. The authorities are questioning the senior students. After a preliminary inquiry, action would be taken against them if found guilty.

UP Autonomous College students barge into hostel, thrash juniors

TNN 16 September 2009, 09:16pm IST

VARANASI: The ugliest face of ragging was revealed on the campus of the UP Autonomous College on Wednesday when senior students attacked the hostel of junior students and brutally assaulted more than 35 first-year students. They were teaching the juniors a lesson for having complained against them. Two students were arrested while search for other students was on.

It may be mentioned here that the college accommodates its BSc first year students in the Third Hostel while the BSs final year students are put up at the New Hostel. The first-year students had alleged that their seniors had been harassing them for the past many days. They had even complaint to the college authorities. This act of juniors irked the final year students and they attacked the Third Hostel on Wednesday afternoon in a large number.

They ransacked the hostel, damaging doors, furniture and destroying books and food articles of the inmates. They then attacked juniors with sticks and broken furniture. Over 35 students, including Abhishek, Gaurav, Vivek Singh, Rupesh, Sarvesh, Shiv Prakash, Shrikant, Shrawan Shukla, Narain Pandey, Ajit and Suryakant, sustained serious injuries on head and face. However, while the hooligans created havoc, wardens remained mere spectators.

It was only when principal Sabha Shankar Tiwari was informed, he arrived there with heavy police force. Seeing the police, the assailants fled from the scene but returned to attack the juniors. Finally, police used force to save the junior students. The principal rushed the injured students to Deen Dayal Hospital for proper treatment. Heavy police force was deployed on the campus.

When the principal was contacted, he claimed he had assumed charge only recently. He had dissolved the old proctorial board and anti-ragging committees of the college. He said the new proctorial board was constituted on Tuesday while the process to form a new anti-ragging committee was in progress. He admitted that ragging of freshers by the senior students had come to light and many complaints of new students were being investigated.

He said he also had formed a committee to probe into the Wednesday's incident. He said many assailants had been identified while the process of identification of other students was on. He said all the guilty students would be expelled from the college after investigation. Two assailants had been arrested by the police till the filing of this report while identification and search of identified assailants was on.

Meanwhile, IG Range Gurdarshan Singh, district magistrate AK Upadhyaya and DIG PC Meena also visited the college to take stock of the situation. They held meetings with the authorities and office-bearers of the institution. The DM told secretary of college management RP Singh that the issue of ragging could not be taken lightly. He instructed the college authorities to detect all the assailants for legal action.

The officials assured the college administration of all help to check ragging and recurrence of such incidents. The DM told TOI that college administration had assured that no guilty student would be spared. He said the arrests had started.

3 students suspended for ragging

Express News Service
First Published : 17 Sep 2009 10:06:00 AM IST


Three students of the Muslim Association College of Engineering at Venjaramoodu have been suspended on charges of ragging junior students.

A fifth-semester student and two third-semester students were suspended following an inquiry conducted by the College Council.

The Venjaramoodu Police have registered two cases in this regard on Tuesday.

While one case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the college principal, another case was registered on the basis of a complaint given by one girl student of the college.

Ragging twist to NIT suicide case

TNN 16 September 2009, 11:07pm IST

JAMSHEDPUR: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) suicide case has taken an ugly turn with parents of the victim, Satyendra Singh, alleging that their son took his own life after he was ragged by his seniors at the institute.

Satyendra's parents Ramashish Prasad and Bindu Devi, who arrived at the Adityapur NIT early on Wednesday morning, has accused senior students of ragging his son that eventually resulted in his committing suicide by hanging in his hostel room.

In the FIR lodged with Adityapur police station, Prasad, a vigilance inspector in Hazaribag, alleged that the senior students used to rag his son regularly since the early days of his admission to the engineering college and that gradually led to his depression and suicide.

Police, meanwhile, said it was difficult to arrive at any conclusion now as investigation was on. Nevertheless, they have not ruled out the ragging angle either.

"Everything is under the scanner. We will hold a thorough investigation and only then something can be said. However, regarding the FIR lodged by the mother of the deceased, all I can say is that no aspect will be overlooked during the probe," said Sheetal Oraon, Seraikela Kharswan SP.

Now, with the matter in the police court, the NIT authorities have refused to speak much. "We feel sad about such an incident. However, police are looking into the matter and things will come to light at the appropriate time," said an NIT official.

On Tuesday evening, Satyendra Singh, a fresher with the MCA stream of NIT, hanged himself to death. The college administration rushed Satyendra to Tata Memorial Hospital and then, informed his parents.

The NIT on Wednesday paid tribute to Satyendra and called off college for the day. His parents have decided to take the body to Hazaribag.

Engg student jumps to her death, ragging suspected

TNN 16 September 2009, 02:21am IST

LUCKNOW: A first year engineering student, identified as Poonam Mishra, committed suicide by jumping off the third floor of her college building in the city on Tuesday. Although ragging was apprehended as the reason for the girl's extreme step, college administration and the police said the girl was under depression.

The incident was reported from Bijnore area under Sarojininagar police circle. Identified as Poonam Mishra of Muftiganj in Jaunpur district, the girl was a student of Azad Institute of Engineering and Technology. Poonamstayed in room number 107 of Azad Girls Hostel along with two other girls.

The incident took place around 12.30 pm after her last class. Said college director Mohammed Hussain: "She along with her other friends came out of the classroom and then told them that she had left her bag inside and would get it back. As others waited for her, she jumped off the building.'' Students and teachers immediately rushed her to FI Hospital in Kaiserbagh, where she died.

A first year student of the college, who was present at FI Hospital, told TOI that ragging could possibly be the reason for her mental state. "Ragging is going on in our college. I myself have been a victim of it. Probably, she also faced such a situation,'' he said.

Talking to TOI, however, the college administration denied that ragging was going on in their college. Director Ahmad Hussain said: "There is no ragging going on here. What Poonam's roommates have told me and the police is that she was finding it difficult to cope with teaching in English. As she was weak in the subject, she had been under depression for some days.''

The director, however, could not explain how a student, who had just been in the college for a week, could take such a step. When asked whether the college was contemplating any inquiry, Ahmad said: "Till now, no inquiry has been conducted by us.''

Circle Officer (CO), Sarojiningar, Subhash Atri, too said Poonam had problems with English. "She didn't die because of ragging and no suicide note has been recovered from her hostel room or her bag.''

When TOI contacted Poonam's father Dharam Raj, who works in Azamgarh district administration, he said: "I don't know why she took this step. She did tell me two days ago that she was facing problems in coping with the English language. However, at that moment, I did not know it was so serious.''

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Four IT-BHU students sent to jail for ragging

Varanasi, Sept 15 (PTI) Four students of IT-BHU have been arrested and expelled from the institute for two years for allegedly ragging a fresher by forcing him to dance like a male stripper outside the university campus.

"The students on Sunday evening forced a fresher to act like a male stripper at a restaurant outside the university campus. They have been arrested and booked under various sections of the Prohibition of ragging act and the IPC," SP (City) Vijay Bhushan said.

The accused also thrashed the victim, a student of B Tech-Chemical Engineering at the insitute, besides snatching his mobile phone and Rs 1100 in cash, he said.

The accused with two freshers among them, have also been expelled from the institute for two years after the university authorities found them guilty of the crime, BHU Vice chancellor D P Singh who chairs the university's anti-ragging committee said.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

University students held on suspicion of ragging in Andhra Pradesh

GUNTUR, September 12, 2009

At least 12 senior students of Acharya Nagarjuna University belonging to a student association were taken into custody in the early hours of Saturday by the Mangalagiri police, following complaints that they had abused the juniors in their hostel. The incident created a stir on the campus which remained closed on Saturday.

Police said that investigation into the complaint was still going on and pointed out no cases of ragging have been booked so far.

The incident took place on Thursday night when some seniors of National Dalit Student Federation (NDSF) rushed to the Ashoka hostel following reports that the pamphlets and papers relating to a meeting struck to the notice board had been torn off and demanded the juniors to name the culprits. Later, they asked all the juniors to assemble outside and reportedly abused them verbally.

Some of the juniors informed this to seniors and staged a sit-in protest on the university premises on Friday. They also lodged a police complaint at the Mangalagiri police station. Basing on the complaint, a police team swooped on the hostel in the early hours of Saturday where the seniors stay and picked up 12 students. The Circle Inspector, Mangalagiri, said that the students were still being questioned.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Howrah student attempts suicide after ragging

TNN 11 September 2009, 04:48am IST

KOLKATA: A first-year student of a private technology institute in Howrah tried to commit suicide on Wednesday after he was beaten, tortured and
forced to do drugs by his seniors. During the 90-minute ordeal, Nayan Adak's wrists were slashed with razors and he was injected with air.

Unable to take the humiliation or face his tormentors in college, 19-year-old Nayan gulped poison in his home in Tamluk's Arinan village. The only son of a farmer and a star-mark student, Nayan is now hovering between life and death. The boy's uncle, Subal Chandra Adak, has lodged an FIR with Uluberia police.

The Howrah incident comes just days after a ragging complaint rocked Jadavpur University. Nayan had joined Calcutta Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology & Allied Health Sciences in Uluberia in August for a B Pharm course. Seniors started picking on him from the first day and the ragging continued relentlessly for one and a half months, says his family.

On Friday, Nayan was waiting at Uluberia station to catch a train home when four seniors grabbed him and took him to a house in the locality, says his uncle. Once inside, the door was barred and the torture began. Nayan was beaten and forced to smoke a cigarette. Then an unknown drug was forced down his throat. When he lay delirious, his wrists were slashed with a razor. Then, one of the seniors asked another to fetch an empty syringe, the FIR says. As Nayan desperately struggled, he was held down and air injected into his left hand.

Battered and dazed, Nayan was dragged back to the station, warned against saying anything, and dumped.
At home, he kept the wounds hidden at first, saying he had tripped while playing. The next three days were holidays, but all the while Nayan was unusually quiet, says his family. "We now realise he was tormented from within," his uncle said.

On Tuesday morning, after his father left for the fields, Nayan tried to commit suicide by drinking poison. His groans alerted his family members. Gasping for breath, he asked his family for forgiveness and narrated the ordeal, thinking it was the last time he would be seeing them.

Nayan was rushed to Tamluk district hospital and referred to SSKM in Kolkata. On his way to the city, his condition worsened and he had to be admitted to a nursing home at Alampur, Howrah. "He is in severe trauma and his left hand is peculiarly swollen," said Buddhadeb Das, superintendent of the nursing home.

Samir Kumar Samanta, a member of the college's anti-ragging committee, said they were inquiring into the case. Head of the department Manas Chakraborty has assured strict action against the guilty. Howrah SP Hari Kishore Kusumakar said police were waiting for Nayan to recover to take his statement.

Six students in Uttar Pradesh detained for ragging

September 10th, 2009 - 4:17 pm ICT by IANS

Lucknow, Sep 10 (IANS) Six students of a private engineering college have been detained for allegedly ragging a student in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district, police said Thursday. Police detained the six students, who are in their second year at Ganeshi Lal Narayandas Institute of Technology, Wednesday night for ragging Vikas Parashar, a first year student.

“We are probing into the matter along with officials of the college,” district police chief B.D. Paulson told IANS. “Strict action would be taken against the students if they are found guilty,” he said.

According to police, on the pretext of introducing freshers, the six used to force them to perform objectionable acts. They also used to assault their juniors who refused to act as per their instructions.

“The complaint against the six students were made by the parents of the junior students,” police inspector Surendra Kumar said.

Five tribal students in Chhattisgarh suspended for ragging

September 10th, 2009 - 2:00 pm ICT by IANS

Raipur, Sep 10 (IANS) Five tribal students of a government-run school in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district have been suspended for ragging after over a dozen junior students complained that they were forced by the seniors to stroll naked in the hostel complex and beaten, an official said.


The five suspended students were studying in Class 10. The school authorities suspended them late Wednesday night based on prima facie evidence that they would force some students of Class 6 and 7 to walk naked in the hostel campus and also beat them regularly, a senior official of the tribal welfare department told IANS Thursday.

The hostel is located in the complex of Bharti Higher Secondary School in Govindpur locality of Kanker town, about 150 km south of capital Raipur. Over 54 hostel students, including 50 tribal students, are enrolled in the school.

The source said that the hostel superintendent has also been placed under suspension for overlooking the ragging episode.

The juniors were allegedly being ragged for several weeks but it came to light only on Sep 6 when a few victims went to their native village on leave and complained to their parents.

Ragging case at Ghaziabad law school

Ghaziabad, September 09, 2009

A first-year law (LLB) student at Mewar Management Institute here has alleged ragging and physical torture by senior students.

Vivek Tiwari (19), son of a Supreme Court lawyer, was allegedly ragged by seniors and brutally thrashed, said police.

Vivek’s father, Dr Vinod Tiwari, has lodged a complaint at the Indirapuram police station and demanded strict action against the college chairman and senior students, police said.

“This happened on August 21 and was also repeated two days back. When I reached college at my son’s behest, he had already been handed over the fee-refund,” said Vinod Tiwari.

“When I asked them the reason for expelling my son, college chairman Ashok Gadia misbehaved with us and threatened us. I want proper action into the matter as no action has been taken against the incident.”

When contacted, college chairman Ashok Gadia termed the police complaint as ‘fake’. “The incident never happened inside the college campus. This student is under depression. We have refunded the fee with mutual consent and in the interest of the child,” said Subhankar Dutta, Deputy Director.

Victim Vivek Tiwari said he was beaten up badly by seniors as he did not succumb under pressure. “Earlier, the college authorities covered up the matter, saying students clashed over a girl.”

“ They told me to resolve the matter but it happened again. The college is protecting senior students from influential families,” he alleged.

“Police will act strict if ragging is found out,” SSP Akhil Kumar told HT.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

NIT students clash over ragging

Published: Wed, 09 Sep 2009 at 17:44 IST


Adityapur, (Jharkhand): Engineering students of the National Institute Of Technology (NIT) today clashed over alleged ragging at its campus in Saraikela-Kharawan district.

Adequate security arrangements have been made by the district administration after second year students and freshers clashed allegedly over an incident of ragging, police said.

It could not be ascertained whether anyone was injured in the clash as all the students rushed back to their room after a police team reached the spot, he said.

Second ragging incident in a week

9 Sep 2009, 0948 hrs IST

In yet another case of ragging, a first year student was ragged in the deemed University of Faridabad, Haryana. The victim Dheeraj Sanghwan, a first year Engineering student of CITM College was reportedly stripped and beaten by seniors for disobeying them.

The victim says he was stripped and beaten with sticks because of his "disobedience" to his seniors. The wounds on his body are clear evidence of the beating.

The police have notified about the incident. Dheeraj is a resident of Bhiwani.

Ragging fallout: 150 army men booked for rioting in Indore college

September 9th, 2009 - 1:51 pm ICT by IANS

Bhopal, Sep 9 (IANS) Cases have been registered against around 150 army men from Mhow, a cantonment town near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, for rioting and obstructing government servants in Indore, police said Wednesday. The incident occurred after two army officers were beaten up for objecting to ragging in a medical college.


The army men allegedly broke window panes and ransacked furniture of Sri Aurobindo College of Medical Sciences (SAIMS), Indore, late Monday in retaliation against medicos allegedly attacking two of their colleagues earlier in the day.

“Around 140-150 army men have been booked for rioting and obstructing government servants. They were also booked for attempting to commit robbery when armed with deadly weapons. They even tried to snatch a mobile phone from a senior police officer after their photographs were clicked,” Banganga police station in-charge R.L Bhadoria said.

Police had earlier arrested two students of SAIMS and booked eight others for abusing, rioting and beating two officers from Mhow’s Infantry School.

The two officers were dropping off a student at the medical college and had objected to alleged ragging in the college, when they were attacked.

The retaliatory action by the army men occurred though the police, acting on the complaint of Lt. Ramandeep Singh Negi, had registered cases against 10 college students under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and had arrested two of them, police officers pointed out.

Army authorities have said they have launched a full scale investigation.

Seven Assam students suspended for ragging, assaulting teacher

Indo-Asian News Service
Guwahati, September 09, 2009

Seven students from colleges in Assam's Dibrugarh town have been suspended on charges of ragging and assaulting teachers, officials said on Wednesday.

The action has been taken against four postgraduate students of Dibrugarh University and three undergraduate students from the Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh.

The four students from Dibrugarh University were suspended for two semesters for allegedly assaulting some junior boarders of the hostel.

"The action was taken based on a complaint by some junior boarders that they were physically and mentally tortured by seniors at their hostel. A five-member committee formed to inquire into the incident found them guilty," Dibrugarh University Registrar Pradip Kumar Bhuyan said.

The Assam Medical College late Tuesday expelled three of its undergraduate students from the hostel for allegedly assaulting a teacher last week. The incident took place outside the college campus around midnight on Sep 2.

"Apart from expelling the three students from the hostel, we have also debarred the students from attending classes for six months and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 each," principal and chief superintendent of the Assam Medical College TR Borbora said.

Last month, Dibrugarh University had expelled one postgraduate student and penalised eight more to varying degrees, including cash penalties.

The tough action was initiated following written complaints against the nine students to the vice chancellor by junior students alleging "mental torture" bordering on obscenity.

Visually impaired student ragged in college

TNN 9 September 2009, 06:15am IST

AHMEDABAD: A visually impaired student of Gujarat College was ragged inside the campus 10 days ago. Ellisbridge police and vice-chancellor of Gujarat University, Parimal Trivedi, has initiated independent investigations into the matter.

"We are taking this matter seriously and an enquiry has been initiated. We have sought clarification from the college," said Trivedi. The incident was kept under wraps and surfaced after some anonymous letters were written by a professor of the college. The college's prinicipal, Piyush Pandya denied the incident but added, "Two visually impaired students do study in the college but I am not aware of any incident of ragging," said Pandya.

A peon of the college rushed to the Ellisbridge police station and complained to a head constable there that trouble was brewing in the college's hostel. The head constable went to the hostel and found that a blind student was being harassed by other students who were also bursting crackers at his feet.

The cops drove away the bullies and restored peace. "The next day Pandya had called me and complained that one of my policemen had caused some trouble inside the college. I spoke to the head constable and he narrated the incident of ragging inside the college. A few days later we got an anonymous letter from an professor of the college. The professor lauded the police's punitive action and that the same set of students often create nuisance inside the college. We have initiated an inquiry on this basis."

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Three booked for ragging in Indore

September 8th, 2009 - 5:38 pm ICT by IANS

Indore, Sep 8 (IANS) At least three students of Holkar Science College here have been booked for allegedly ragging first year students, police said Tuesday. The victims claimed that they were subjected to ragging by the seniors on Sep 2.

The issue came to light five days after the incident when some leaders of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took about 20-25 students of B.Sc first year to the office of the principal to lodge a formal complaint against the senior students.

Demanding stern action against the accused, ABVP leader Gaurav Randive threatened to launch an agitation against the college if action was not taken against the accused in the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile, college principal Anupam Jain confirmed having received the complaint and said the matter had been forwarded to the police. An emergency meeting of the college anti-ragging committee has been summoned.

The seniors have been identified as Ravi Choudhary, Alok Parethia and Ajay Shinde. All the accused are yet to be arrested, he added.

Ragging incident in HP college

Dharamsala (HP), Sep 8 (PTI) In the first case of ragging after a law has come into force to check the menace, police have booked an MA student of government degree college here for committing the crime.

An FIR has been registered against the first year student -- Manoj Thakur -- on the basis of recommendation of the college, a police official said today.

This is the first case of ragging in the hill state after enactment of an Anti-ragging Act having stringent provisions like three-year jail or fine of Rs 50,000 or both.

Police are conducting raids to arrest the student, who is absconding, he said.

A first year BCom student -- Chandan -- had lodged a complaint on September 2 to the college authorities stating he was ragged by Thakur.

Monday, September 07, 2009

Nursing students complain of ragging at BHU

PTI 7 September 2009, 07:53pm IST

VARANASI: Nursing students at BHU have accused their seniors of ragging them, despite the institute taking stringent action against students indulging in such practice. The complaint was made to authorities by freshers of the School of Nursing at the Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, on Sunday, a senior official of the university said on Monday.

The freshers alleged "they were taught manners" by their seniors on the evening of September 4 at the Florence Nightangle Hostel on the BHU campus for nursing students.

"The matter is being investigated and if found true, strict action will be taken in this regard," the official said. Earlier, two incidents of ragging were reported in BHU in the current session and accused students slapped with a fine of Rs 50,000 each.

Ragging arrest

Guwahati police arrested four students from a private hostel today for allegedly ragging a newcomer.

According to police, the accused — Akash Agarwal, 20, Amit Maheswari, 23, Vivek Goel, 27, and Rohit Agarwal, 21, — were arrested from their hostel on bylane 4 at Gandhibasti today on charges of torturing 17-year-old Rajiv Sharma, both physically and mentally.


“According to a complaint lodged by Sharma’s family at Chandmari police station this morning, the accused were harassing Rajiv since September 4,” a police source said. Sharma was “manhandled” resulting in mental agony, he added.

The police said the four accused were from different colleges but did not disclose the names of the institutions.

They also refused to divulge if Sharma had been sent for medical examination. A higher secondary first year student of Icon Academy, Sharma hails from Barpathar in Golaghat district.

Nine students expelled for torture

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Agartala, Sept. 6: Nine students of Agartala Government Medical College were ousted from the boys’ hostel yesterday after they grievously injured a first-year student on suspicion of stealing a laptop.

While six were expelled permanently, three have been suspended for six months by a notification issued by principal Dilip Kumar Das. The tortured student, Anil Jamatya, is undergoing treatment at G.B. Hospital.

“This boy belongs to the 2006 batch but failed to clear exams and is still languishing in first year. He allegedly stole a laptop from a second year student and was subjected to nightlong physical torture. It was so vicious that a hot iron was pressed against his back,” an official source said.

The students have been directed to clear out of the hostel by September 9.

This second-year batch, comprising 14students, including the nine expelled this time, had earlier been suspended from the hostel for a month for physically abusing first year students as part of the “ragging” process.

Authorities, however, are not willing to disclose the names of the expelled students as they would have to look for accommodation outside the hostel and any taint on their reputation could make finding a rented place difficult.

A source said the college is trying to pass off the expulsion as a disciplinary step and not viewing the action as ragging-related.

Besides, they do not want to declare it as “ragging” as it could attract suo motu action by the police. The college principal and hostel warden refused to comment.

Subroto Chakravarty, officer-in-charge, West Agartala police station, said: “We have received no complaint. So there is no question of taking any action.”

The college, however, has a long history of ragging expulsions. “Last month, we had to suspend all the girl students of second year from the hostel for six months after they subjected new students to the vilest and most obscene physical torture. Their suspension period was, however, reduced following guardians’ appeals,” the college source said.

Three years ago, the son of Congress MLA Biswabandhu Sen escaped a murderous assault by fellow students at the medical college during a ragging session. Though there were no reports of ragging for about a year after the incident, the menace is back to haunt the medical college campus.

“This is the first time that such a drastic action has been take. Everybody will have to be careful from now on,” Dhaniram Devvarma, a third year student, said.

Four students allege ragging in JU

Express News Service
Posted: Sep 07, 2009 at 0253 hrs IST

Kolkata Four first-year students of the Jadavpur University were allegedly ragged and mentally harassed on Friday night by their seniors at the university’s main hostel, next to the Jadavpur police station.

The matter came to light after a written complaint was submitted by two of the victims to the dean of students, Rajat Ray, on Sunday morning.

According to reports, three mechanical engineering students and one civil engineering student were ragged by six second-year students, three each from the two departments.

“I came to know about the incident today morning. On Monday a special meeting of the anti-ragging committee of the university will be convened,” said Siddharth Datta, the JU Pro Vice-Chancellor. “We will decide on the issue considering the Raghavan Committee recommendations and the Supreme Court guidelines,” Datta added.Justify Full

The university authorities, however, said the actual number of the victim and the miscreant students was not yet known and it is difficult to comment on the issue before an inquiry.

The anti-ragging committee, comprising students and teachers, will conduct a detailed inquiry in this incident.

Sunday, September 06, 2009

17 students in Himahcal fined for not reporting ragging

Posted by Ravinder Makhaik on Sep 6th, 2009 in News.

Shimla: Getting tough to contain ragging, Agriculture University, Palampur not only fined and expelled two of the perpetrators but also fined the victims of ragging as well as those who were witness to it for maintaining a silence on the incident.

Armed with The Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Bill 2009 that the state expressly enacted following the murder of Aman Kacharoo by ragging in Tanda Medical College, Kangra, institution administrators and education authorities have become vigilant towards the menace and are making efforts to stamp it out.

Palampur Agriculture University expelled two MSc first year students for the 2008-09 academic year after they were indicted by an inquiry set up by the management committee over a ragging incident, a government spokesman stated. A fine of Rs 25,000 was also imposed. The case was brought to the notice of the vice-chancellor in November, 2008, who had ordered the inquiry.

Going beyond punishing the perpetrators by taking recourse to Raghvan Committee recommendations on ragging – ‘those who do not report even when being witnesses or victims, should also be punished suitably’ – the university also punished three other BSc Agriculture (Hons) students, who the inquiry established though were victims of the same ragging incident but had not reported it to the authorities. All 3 were put on a years’ probation and fined Rs 5,000 each, the spokesman said.

Four students, who were members of the university anti-ragging committed were fined for Rs 3,500 each for suppressing information and another 10 students, who were present at the time of ragging but chose to remain silent, were fined Rs 2,500 each for suppressing information and not reporting the incident.

Measure like running a sensitization program for students and their parents about ragging being a cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable offence with grave consequences to a students future and setting up anti-ragging committees at college and hostel levels is contributing towards preventing ragging, said a agriculture university spokesman. Ragging will not be tolerated is the clear message, he added.

The stringent anti-ragging 2009 bill, which the Himachal assembly adopted in August, has made provisions for punishment and fine, which may extend up to three years imprisonment and a fine up to Rs 50,000 for any student found guilty of ragging. One indicted over ragging would stand expelled for a period of three years and would become ineligible for admission to any other institution.

Culpability of institution heads, if established, in not taking action against culprits could land one with a two year jail term and also be liable for a Rs 25,000 fine.

Amity student ‘drugged’ by seniors

Noida, September 05, 2009

A first-year Amity University student was allegedly drugged by his seniors when he protested against ragging. Prateek Yadav was admitted to Prakash Hospital on Friday night.

Medical superintendent Dr S Siddiqui said: “Prateek... was admitted for unknown poisoning. His stomach was washed. His condition is stable now.”

Yadav, a first-year student of Hotel Management, said: “When I was returning home some seniors, whom I didn’t recognise, took me to the other side of the road and forced me to eat a puri. Then they left me at the hostel.”

His father RPS Yadav said: “It is a case of ragging. I will report the matter to the college.”

DSP RN Mishra said: “A case under IPC Section 328 (Administering stupefying drug with intent to cause injury) against four unknown students has been lodged. Though the victim’s complaint didn’t mention ragging, we are probing that angle.”

Amity spokesperson Savita Mehta said: “Our initial probe found it wasn’t a case of ragging. It took place outside our campus.”

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Ragging victim beaten to death in rehab centre

Kalyani (WB), Sep 4 (PTI) A 22-year-old polytechnic student, undergoing psychological treatment after a ragging incident, was allegedly beaten to death today by attendants of the rehabilitation centre in Nadia district.

According to police, guardians of Supriyo Chatterjee has claimed that he was beaten to death by the attendants of the 'Life Foundation', a de-addiction cum rehabilitation centre run by an NGO, where the body was undergoing treatment for a physiological disorder.

Police said the deceased father, Chanchal Chatterjee, has lodged a complaint that his son was killed by the NGO attendants after which two persons were detained for interrogation.

Agitated over the incident, the family members allegedly ransacked the office of the NGO.

20 students suspended for ragging

TNN 5 September 2009, 05:25am IST

DURGAPUR: NIT-Durgapur has suspended 20 students for two months for allegedly ragging five youths studying in the first year.


The victims lodged a complaint on the anti-ragging website of the HRD ministry, saying they had been ragged in August. The Centre then directed the NIT authorities to investigate the matter.

The NIT management called the 20 students on Thursday. Of them, 18 are second-year students while two are in the third year. They are from mechanical civil, computer and electrical engineering departments.

The authorities handed over suspension letters to the 20 students and directed them to vacate the hostel within 24 hours. The students have been suspended till October 31.

A K Mitra, (dean, administration) confirmed that the 20 students had been suspended. He said the varsity would take strong action against the students as per central government's anti-ragging directives.

Friday, September 04, 2009

Ragging incident in Delhi ITI

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) In yet another case of ragging in the national capital, a 17-year-old student of an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) in east Delhi was allegedly beaten up by his seniors who also made him strip and dance.

The incident was reported from the ITI in Vivek Vihar on Wednesday evening. "The student was made to strip and forced to dance naked.

When he resisted, he was beaten up badly. He suffered injuries in his private parts," a senior police officer said.

The victim, who joined the institute on September one, claimed that he was ragged on the first day of his joining also.

On Wednesday, according to the victim, around ten senior students allegedly took him to a room and asked him to sing a song. However, when he refused, he was forced to strip.

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

2 students held for ragging

Staff Reporter

KARIMNAGAR: Two engineering students were arrested on charges of ragging, harassment (beating) of a junior student in Mother Theresa College of Engineering in Peddapalli town on Tuesday.

Police sources said that the accused, K. Chalapathi Rao (Khammam) and M. Ajay Kumar (Nellore), both in third year B. Tech, had been harassing N. Sudheer Rao, a second year student from Warangal for long. The accused had allegedly been forcing Sudheer Rao to buy them liquor in the hostel and torturing him after getting drunk. On Monday night, the accused beat up Rao for not obeying their “orders.”

Six medical students suspended for ragging

Express News Service
Posted: Sep 02, 2009 at 0228 hrs IST


Surat Six medical students were suspended for ragging seven first-year students at the Government Medical College here on Tuesday. The incident was reported on Sunday after which a complaint was filed with the Anti-Ragging Committee of the college. The college council has suspended the accused for six months, and they will not be allowed to stay in the hostel during this period.

Hospital sources said the six first-year MBBS students were called by the accused (second and third year MBBS students of the same college) to the Raj Empire Multiplex at Bhatar Road on Sunday evening.

The six accused, identified as Anand Meena, Gaurav Bhagmar, Jitendra Gupta, Shubhash Bishnoi, Anshal Jain and Rajendra Lakhawat asked the victims, Akash Ramchandani, Surabh Dasade, Sachin Sharma, Punit Singh, Abhishek Bansal, Adesh Arora and Vijay Sharma to strip. But the juniors refused to comply and returned to the hostel.

Dr Shailendra Bajpayee, Dean, Government Medical College, said: “The incident came to light when the Anti-Ragging Committee of the college found out about the incident through student sources. The victims were told to give a written complaint. All the accused and victims were present in the college council meeting on Tuesday evening.”

He added that all the heads of department of all faculties of the college were also present at the meeting.

Dr Bajpayee added: “The council ruled that the accused should be suspended for six months and expelled from the college hostel. We have also planned to take police action against them.”

Dr Ganesh Govekar, chairman of the Anti-Ragging Committee, said: “The victims were called to the multiplex as nobody was present at the spot.” He added: “In the hostel, there was a danger of being caught. The act of the accused senior students comes under the definition of ragging, and we will deal with them strictly so that nobody repeats such act in the future.”

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Students allege ragging in Uttar Pradesh college

September 1st, 2009 - 1:38 pm ICT by IANS


Lucknow, Sep 1 (IANS) Four students of a private college in Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district have alleged they were ragged and assaulted by their seniors.

Second year B.Tech students of Sitapur Shikshan Sansthan, a college offering several technical courses, have complained to college authorities that fourth year students had beaten them up after they refused to sing and dance as part of ragging Monday.

In their complaint, the students say their seniors dragged them out of the class and later ragged them inside a vacant classroom. They were later thrashed for not following the instructions of the seniors.

The victims also gave a representation at the district police chief’s office Monday evening.

“As soon as I came to know about the incident, I directed a police inspector to investigate the case. We are probing the matter,” Sitapur Superintendent of Police Ram Kumar told IANS over telephone.

Said college spokesperson Lakshman Trivedi: “An inquiry has been initiated into the matter. If the senior students are found guilty, stern action would be taken against them.”

Sitapur is about 80 km from Lucknow.

Senior held for ragging girl student in Chhattisgarh

IANS 1 September 2009, 10:45am IST

RAIPUR: A student of the Government Engineering College (GEC) here has been arrested for ragging his junior. A police officer said Praveen had asked the girl to hug him and do it daily.


Praveen Mishra, a seventh semester student of Mechanical Engineering, was held on Monday from his college in Shej Bahar area on the outskirts of Raipur after a fifth semester computer science engineering student reported ragging.


"The student has a history of misbehaving with juniors. He was arrested for ragging the girl student and has been put in jail," said police station in charge.

He said Praveen forcibly stopped the girl student Monday and asked her to follow his instructions. Subsequently, she filed a complaint with the police.

Meanwhile, college authorities are investigating the matter on a directive by the college's anti-ragging committee which was set up early this year on instructions of the state government.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

4 booked for ragging at govt commerce college

TNN 30 August 2009, 05:14am IST

GANDHINAGAR: A first year student of Government Commerce College in Sector 20 was admitted to Civil Hospital here after he was beaten up
mercilessly by senior colleagues on Saturday. Four students have been booked for ragging after a complaint was lodged with Sector 21 police station.

The accused, one of them identified as Ajaysinh Darbar, allegedly injured the victim seriously by kicking him in his groins. The victim told police that the accused had objected to his presence in the college and thrashed him.

The college management has launched an independent inquiry into the matter to find out whether the accused were from other college. "If the accused turn out to be students from our college, they will be suspended," said an official of the college.

Meanwhile, police have registered the case and started probe. "The victim hails from Sector 5-C and is a native of Palitana. He is a bright student with excellent record in sports and extra circular activities," said a police official.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

3 BIT students punished for ragging on campus

Anil Ashutosh, TNN 28 August 2009, 05:52am IST

SINDRI: Three students of BIT Sindri were taken to task for ragging on Thursday.

Not hesitating to crack the whip, the authorities barred Ashutosh Tarun, Ashish Sharma and Rohit Barnwal, all third-semester students of production engineering, from entering the institute hostel for an indefinite period and prevented them from taking part in all academic activities, including attending classes and library, for 15 days. Besides, a fine of Rs 20,000 each has been imposed on the three. Also, an FIR has been filed against the students at the local polce station.

According to professor G Kumar, the general warden of BIT Sindri, when the newly admitted students were returning to their respective hostels after attending classes in metallurgical and chemical engineering buildings in the afternoon, Tarun, Sharma and Barnwal stopped them near the administrative building and asked them to bow before every senior and pass through the area in a zig-zag manner with their bodies half-bent as a mark of respect to the seniors. Reportedly, the freshers were also told not to lift their heads even once throughout the exercise.

However, as luck would have it, the institute director, the general warden and six hostel superintendents came out of the administrative building at that time and saw the act for themselves. Then, they chased the three, caught them and seized their identity cards.

Besides punishing the three students, institute director S K Singh said a copy of the action taken report has been sent to the Dhanbad deputy commissioner, the superintendent of police and other senior officials for further action.