Here, ragging cases refuse to die

MYSORE: University of Mysore (UoM) constituent Maharaja College is in news for a wrong reason.

While ragging stands nearly eliminated from city colleges, a student from Maharaja College was beaten up by a group of seniors when the former failed to abide by their diktat.

According to a source, the incident took place on Monday afternoon at the hostel which located adjacent to the college. Sources say the first-year-degree student, who recently took admission to the hostel, went to the mess to have a dinner on Monday night. However, he was bullied and asked by his seniors to wash their plates. This uncouth group also included students who had passed out of college and was staying in the hostel without permission. When the victim refused to wash the plates, he was brutally beaten up.

However, another source had a different version of the incident and disclosed that two students of first year BA hailing from a village in Kollegal taluk were going to mess. On the way, they accidentally brushed their shoulders against a senior student. At that time, the seniors asked the two students to behave properly and apologize for the incident. But they refused to apologize saying that they have done nothing wrong. At this point, six seniors beat up the juniors.

When the students approached the police, the city's former mayor sensing the gravity of the incident intervened and persuaded the victim to withdraw his complaint. "Though initially the student was reluctant to withdraw the complaint, he was forced to do so," a source said.

However, police who took note of the incident, issued a non-cognizable report. Four students have tendered their written apology to cops, whereas those students who passed out from college five years ago, were allowed to leave.

Meanwhile, a college teacher told TOI that officials' failure to check the overstaying of students is the reason for such ugly incidents.