Act tough in ragging case,Darade tells GMC dean

TNN, 30 January 2010, 02:22am IST

NAGPUR: The situation seems to be more complicated than before for Yogesh Rathod. This second year student of the MBBS course at Government Medical College (GMC) claimed to have been ragged by three of his 'seniors' just after midnight on Sunday at the residential hostel where he stays. And now, while his friends are trying to help him out, his alleged tormentors are turning up the heat on him to drop the matter!

On Friday, some of the batchmates of Yogesh claimed that the incident was being played down, visited district collector Praveen Darade, asking that he intervene on their behalf and secure justice for the victim. Darade, on his part, told TOI that he had already instructed GMC dean Dr Abhimanyu Niswade to initiate the strictest of action against the guilty parties, and also offered any help if Niswade needed it.

On the other hand, Niswade told TOI that Yogesh was a person who had recently been beaten up by some auto-rickshaw drivers, and even insinuated that it was probably the boy's fault. "The collector has asked me to not to let the accused even within the campus for two years, and to see that they are not able to register themselves as doctors with the Medical Council of India. However, all that is not within my power," he explained.

"The college council has been taking a decision in this regard, and it will be known to all by Saturday morning. Otherwise, it is not in my hands to take the steps that the collector has suggested," Niswade added. It is interesting to note that he clearly did not hold a good view of a student of the very college where he is the dean, and additionally, did not seem too keen to punish those who are accused of mistreating this student!

It is highly unfortunate that such an attitude should be displayed in Nagpur when people accused of ragging are being dealt with an iron hand across the country. One is also liable to question why Niswade is not acting tough on the accused even though the collector has promised all help from his as well as the government's side!

Meanwhile, the friends of Yogesh who went to meet the collector on Friday, told TOI that they were being pressurised to withdraw the case or soften their stand. Apparently, even college professors are involved in this effort of coercion, because they may be implicated for their role in not stopping such incidents if the guilty parties in this case are indicted.

As for the three accused, they have reportedly threatened the complainants of dire consequences if matters are not 'wound up' soon. The students also complained that the victim is under extreme stress due to these incidents.

Action against 20 engineering students for ragging

January 28th, 2010 - 7:51 pm ICT by IANS

Bhopal, Jan 28 (IANS)Authorities of the premier Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT) here Thursday said they have “taken action” against 20 second year students accused of ragging their juniors.
The students against whom action has been taken belong to B. Planning 2nd Year. The action follows complaints by first year students of the same department Wednesday of mass ragging involving mental and physical abuse. However, the college authorities refused to say what action they have taken against the erring students.

The MANIT management learnt of the incident after some victims Wednesday sent an SMS to Bhopal divisional commissioner Pukhraj Maroo, who in turn asked Bhopal Collector Shivshekhar Shukla to look into the matter.

“Though the junior students withdrew their complaint later in the day in writing, the Proctorial Board of the Institute decided to go ahead with the action since the students had earlier confessed about the incident before the full proctorial board,” said Dean of Students’ Affairs of MANIT V.K. Khare. He said that the girls accused of ragging have also been taken to task.

Khare said that the action has been taken so as to discourage the students from getting involved in any such incident in future.

“We have considered the incident as a cognizable offence and initiated action,” the dean said.

The incident occurred at lunch time (12 noon to 1.30 p.m.) on Wednesday at the Department of Architecture and Planning and came to light after police and district administration personnel reached the college.

This is the second time that an incident of ragging has been reported at MANIT this year. The first incident occurred in the last semester and action was initiated against some senior students, though the extent of the incident was not so big.

Law student commits suicide. Is ragging the cause?

Ahmednagar (Maharashtra), Jan 26 (PTI)

A student of a law college committed suicide apparently due to ragging, police said today.

Prashant Chitalkar, a second student of son of Fergusson College in Pune, committed suicide in Khadambe Rahuri taluka where he had gone to his uncle's place. He ended his life by jumping in a well, police said adding the ragging angle could not be ruled out.

Additional Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunil Kadasane told PTI that they are investigating if ragging was a reason behind him committing suicide.

"It is learnt that he had come to his uncle's place as he was fed up with ragging in his college," he said adding a case would be registered only after the inquiry.

Meanwhile, Rahul Pabalkar, a Bsc (Pharmacy) student of Sangamner Pharmacy College, hanged himself to death.

SVNIT students allegedly ragged in public garden

TNN, 24 January 2010, 10:42pm IST

SURAT: The Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute (SVNIT) authorities on Sunday deliberated for long hours the issue of alleged incident of ragging of 15 students, including four girls, on Saturday evening at Sarojini Naidu public garden in Umra area near the campus.

The college authorities were informed about the incident by a local student, who in turn was alerted by an evening walker. The evening walker said the students were made to do squats, hold their ears and become murga'. The freshers were scared of their seniors and were not cooperating with the authorities in the inquiry, sources said. Even in the past, a few minor incidents of ragging had been reported at the SVNIT.

The SVNIT officials had rushed to the spot and found 30 B.Tech students including freshers and seniors in the garden. The students jumped barricades and fences to escape, yet a few were identified and questioned.

They told the authorities that it was a routine party of students belonging to Andhra Pradesh and rejected the ragging charges. However, the institute authorities were provided photographs and video clip by a few residents and evening walkers. The institute authorities ordered an inquiry by the Institute Level Anti Ragging Committee (ILARC). The freshers have refused to reveal anything till Sunday afternoon and maintained that they were just celebrating a party.

It is a routine affair at the SVNIT in which students of different states organise their separate parties to welcome fresher or to give farewell to seniors. These parties take place soon after the common freshers party. The students are supposed to take permission for organising freshers party outside the campus which they had not taken for the one held on Saturday.

Notices inssued to five inmates of SSL hostel

TNN, 22 January 2010, 10:42pm IST

ALLAHABAD: The authorities of Allahabad University (AU) have issued notices to five inmates of Sir Sunder Lal hostel on charges of getting indulged in ragging and harassing their juniors. The inmates have been asked to submit their explanations within the next three days.

Similarly, eight research scholars and inmates of International hostel are also been served notice on charges of damaging the water cooler of the hostel. Interestingly, among these scholars, one is enrolled under the chief proctor Prof Jata Shankar.

The inmates of SSL, who have been served the notice, include Pankaj Tewari, Praveen Yadav, Soumitra Dwivedi, Akhand Pratap Sahi and Vikrmajeet. Likewise those of the international hostel include name Manoj Pandey, Janardhan, Prateek Pandey, Pramod Mishra, Santosh Upadhayay, Harendra Singh, Rajkumar and Umesh Chandra, informed the chief proctor.

According to reports, the Colonelganj police had received a complaint wherein it was mentioned that some eight freshers of SSL hostel were taken to Prayag station and ragged. The varsity authorities swung into action and issued the notice to the five inmates of SSL. Meanwhile, a group of freshers of SSL arrived at the chief proctor's office and denied occurrence of any such incident by the seniors.

Confirming the development, Prof Jata Shankar said that the complaints of ragging have been taken very seriously by the varsity administration. "We will take a decision on these students after going through their explanations as the matter is been investigated. I would find out the truth behind the issue," he said.

Meanwhile, the chief proctor also received a phone call from Tarachand hostel on late Wednesday night in which an unidentified inmate complained of ragging being done in the hostel. The proctor also said he was in touch with the district police and raid could be carried out at Tarachand Hostel any moment to nab inmates indulging in ragging as well as any outsider who may be staying in the hostel illegally.

8 students suspended for ragging in government polytechnic

January 21st, 2010 - 5:15 pm ICT by IANS

Lucknow, Jan 21 (IANS) Eight students of a government-run polytechnic institute in Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district were suspended for physically abusing and ragging a junior on the institute campus, an official said Thursday.

“The eight students placed under suspension are in their second year of the Electronics trade course and had ragged and assaulted one of their juniors last week,” O.P. Seth, principal of the Jahangirabad Polytechnic, told reporters in Barabanki, some 40 km from Lucknow.

“The students have been found guilty in the ongoing enquiry being conducted by the institute’s proctorial board. As a part of the disciplinary action against the eight students, we may also debar them from appearing in the exams,” he added.

According to the officials, the eight students - Raghuvar Gupta, Pankaj Yadav, Mohammad Shafiq, Mayank Mishra, Kapil Rajbhar, Rohit Tiwari, Amit Pandey and Gaurav Sonkar - manhandled Arvind Pandey after he refused to go around the polytechnic ground on his knees.

They started beating him on the institute’s ground, following which he fell unconscious and was later rushed to a hospital by the authorities.

Arvind was discharged from hospital two days ago but is still not attending classes.

Inquiry committee into Tripura ragging

Agartala, Jan 15 (PTI) An inquiry committee has been formed by the authorities of the Agartala National Institute of Technology (NIT) here following hospitalization of a girl student due to alleged ragging, officials said today.

Poulami Dwivedi, hailing from Jabbailpur was yesterday admitted to Indira Gandhi Hospital here following ragging by the students of third year.

According to the officials the inquiry committee has also served show cause notices to two wardens of the hostel following the allegation of ragging.

Higher Education Minister, Anil Sarkar said his department has asked for a full fledged report and added stern action would be taken against the guilty.

Sarkar also asked the institute authorities to ensure safety and security of the students and assured all possible help to the authorities from the government.

'Society has not accepted ragging as a social evil'

Jyoti Punwani, 13 January 2010, 12:00am IST

The ragging incident involving 18 students attached to KEM Hospital's prestigious G S Medical College has shocked Mumbai. Mohit Garg, co-founder of Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE) and the website noragging.com, tells Jyoti Punwani that ragging can be eliminated:


Q: What do you think of the action against the accused students?


Filing the FIR against them was swift and appreciable, and in keeping with the Supreme Court guidelines. But the chief minister's statement that their careers should not be affected does not help. A crime is a crime and should be handled as such. Careers are not more important than the dignity of life. Another issue here is that those who were ragged should not be ostracised. Typically in such cases, freshers are blamed for spoiling careers, which is another deterrent against complaints.


I wouldn't be surprised if there was far severe ragging happening in other professional colleges in Mumbai. As per a CURE study, the number of media-reported cases in Maharashtra is low compared to Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. This does not imply less ragging, since reported cases would be a tiny fraction of the incidents happening on the ground.


Q: Are there any support systems or networks for victims?


Unfortunately, no. I have seen cases of very severe ragging victims trying to contact one another but either people wish to forget and don't connect with other victims or their own fight is so time-consuming that they are unable to give anything beyond sympathy to others. Another perspective against such a network is that instead of victims carrying the scar throughout their lives, the best remedy is to help them get back to normal as quickly as possible.


Q: Some students feel ragging can never end because its victims want to avenge their humiliation on their juniors.


This is a vicious circle - the victim becoming the perpetrator. We can break it by ensuring that two or three batches are not ragged. This would eliminate the revenge feeling. In fact, most colleges that have successfully eliminated ragging have done this.


CURE advocates a three-pronged approach. One, monitor ragging and mete out strict punishments. The victim cannot be expected to complain. Offenders should be punished strictly according to law, since whatever is inflicted in the name of ragging is a criminal offence. Two, create social awareness. In every ragging death, it emerges that the victim informed his parents, who took it lightly. Whenever one talks to friends about ragging, they think that only cowards are scared of it. Society has not accepted ragging as a social evil. It's regarded as a necessary initiation ritual, a joke. Ragging is not fashionable, please! Three, alternate means of interaction for breaking the ice.


We should have a college-ranking system that includes ragging as a criterion. Only this will make reputation-conscious colleges improve their efforts to eliminate ragging.

ILS Law College probes ragging complaint

DNPUN22354 | 1/10/2010 | Author : DNA Correspondent

The ILS Law College is investigating into an alleged case of ragging in which a Kenyan student suffered serious injuries after he intervened in the assault on another student. The second year Kenyan student Kevin O Wanyonyi filed a complaint with the college principal that some students smashed a glass tumbler on his head after he intervened in the assault of another student by three seniors in the college canteen on Friday morning.


Speaking to DNA, college principal Vaijayanti Joshi said the authorities were investigating into the complaints of ragging and assault by senior students. "I heard two of the victims and later issued notices to the suspected students. Till Saturday afternoon none of the students approached us. If ragging is established, we will approach the police," she said.

Second year student Yogesh Jaybhaye in his complaint to the principal said three seniors quarrelled with him saying that he was not "following their instructions".

Lalu, Paswan ask Gehlot to take action

Wed, Jan 6 07:48 PM

Patna, Jan 6 (PTI) Condemning the alleged attack on Bihari students at a hostel of a private engineering college at Udaipur, the RJD and LJP today asked Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to take immediate steps to bring the perpetrators to book. "It is a highly condemnable incident .

Biharis are unnecessarily being targetted in other parts of the country," RJD supremo Lalu Prasad said in a statement. He alleged that the students were not only subjected to "insult and torture" but were also assaulted with sticks when they reportedly protested against ragging at the college hostel.

"Instead of taking action against the perpetrators of ragging, Bihari students were sent behind the bars by the police," LJP chief Ramvilas Paswan alleged. Leader of the Opposition in Bihar and former chief minister Rabri Devi also condemned the incident and called for action against the perpetrators.

18 KEM students arrested for ragging juniors inside hostel

Ahmed Ali & Malathy Iyer, TNN 4 January 2010, 03:11am IST

MUMBAI: The Bhoiwada police on Sunday evening arrested 18 students from KEM Hospital’s physiotherapy and occupational therapy streams for ragging 10 younger students within their hostel premises in Naigaum on Saturday evening.

Ten freshers had filed a complaint against their seniors with the police as well as the medical college authorities, saying they were allegedly asked to strip, use lewd language and perform mock sexual acts.

On Sunday morning, acting on the complaint, KEM Hospital authorities called an urgent meeting of the anti-ragging committee to discuss the incident. “Our inquiry confirmed that ragging had indeed taken place and we thereafter lodged a police complaint,’’ said deputy dean Dr N D Bhonsale. The hospital is also likely to announce disciplinary action against the offenders within the next seven days, as stipulated in the anti-ragging legislation.

Vikram Patil, senior inspector of the Bhoiwada police station said, “We have registered an offence against the students under various sections of the IPC and under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act of 1999.’’

Dr Sanjay Oak, dean and director of KEM Hospital, Parel, told TOI that “the younger students were asked to use lewd langauge and enact some sexual acts. There is no doubt that this definitely amounts to ragging. We cannot take such acts lightly and have to send a stern message’’.

A relative of one of the 18 students arrested told TOI that “the student called up his parents and told them that he and his friends had watched 3 Idiots and were inspired to indulge in ragging’’.

He also said that the hospital’s 20-member committee was studying the action to be taken against the offenders. “The law allows the institute to expel the students, remove them from the hostel and lodge a police complaint, among other options,’’ he added.
While Mumbai has only seen sporadic complaints of ragging, the entire nation was shocked when a medical student in Himachal Pradesh died after being ragged last year. The incident brought about a stringent anti-ragging legislation.

According to sources, the ragging incident took place in a room in the Naigaum hostel. “One of the juniors walked into the room when the so-called intro session was on and alerted the police and authorities about it,’’ said a KEM staffer. Another staffer said that one of the students who was ragged was the son of a police inspector from Vashi.

At KEM Hospital on Sunday, the 28 students were asked to stay in the dean’s chamber throughout the inquiry. The parents of a 17-year-old first-year student from Malad said, “He was called to the hostel on Saturday to play a game even though he is not a hostelite. He came home at 1.15 am and didn’t tell us about the seriousness of the problem. But he was summoned by the college at 8 am and has been in the room since without us being able to communicate with him.’’

According to M Jivnani, father of a first-year student, his son had complained about seniors ragging him about his dressing style. “We even bought new clothes after he was teased,’’ he told reporters.