Sunday, November 20, 2011

JU boy lodges ragging complaint

KOLKATA: A complaint of ragging has been lodged by a first-year engineering student of Jadavpur University (JU) with the helpline of University Grants Commission (UGC).

The student has complained of physical torture and harassment by seniors in his hostel. "We have received a letter from the UGC informing us of the complaint. It requested the university to look into the matter," said JU registrar Pradip Kumar Ghosh.

He added, "We received the letter before the puja vacations. Since then, we have consistently tried to contact the victim who has alleged ragging. He is refusing to cooperate and is elusive. He resides outside the city and has not yet returned to the campus." The complaint has been lodged against three seniors. "We have not yet been able to form a committee to look into the matter since the fact-finding is still pending," informed Ghosh.

A first-year JU student complained on September 29 that he was subjected to intense physical and mental torture by senior engineering students at his hostel on the night of September 27. The student said his alleged tormentors threatened him with dire consequences if he went to the authorities against them. "A committee has already been formed to look into the matter. It is investigating the case," said the registrar.

On January 14, 2009, JU took the unprecedented decision of slapping a fine of Rs 5,000 on some students and Rs 10,000 on former students involved in ragging a girl of the architecture department a year earlier.

Cops suspect ragging complaint from Holkar College principal was a prank

Indore: No evidence of ragging was found in the Chandra Shekhar boys' hostel in police investigation on Tuesday. Police suspect the complaint received by Holkar College principal in this regard was a prank.

The police found no evidence of ragging in the hostel, as the students whose names have been mentioned in the complaint have not returned from their Diwali break till now.

Bhavarkuan police station in charge Anand Yadav told DNA that the complaint received by Holkar College principal was false. The unidentified complainant has not been tracked yet while others whom he accused of ragging are yet to come back from their hometown.

"We interrogated the students whose names were mentioned in the message and they denied of any such incident," said Yadav.

Holkar College principal Dr SL Garg was also present with the police during inspection.

"We unlocked the rooms to check if any student was locked inside as it was mentioned in the complaint message. But it was all fine. Students also denied of any such incident which allegedly took place on the weekend," he said. The police have confirmed that the names of all the 18 students including the senior and junior students who were allegedly a part of ragging mentioned in the SMS are the residents of the same hostel.

"We are trying to track the person who sent the complaint message to Dr Garg. Things will be clearer when the culprit is tracked," said Yadav.

Two engg students held for ragging junior

BANKURA : A second-year mechanical engineering student of Mallabhum Institute of Technology in Bankura's Bishnupur was on Sunday night allegedly assaulted by two drunk seniors - both fourth-year BTech students of mechanical engineering - who even threatened to shove him off the 4th-floor hostel terrace. Both Prithvijit Roy and Santanu Choudhury were arrested. The victim, Dwaipayan Ghosh, a Thakurpukur-resident, is being treated at the Bishnupur sub-divisional hospital.

Police said Prithvijit hails from Chandan Nagar in Hooghly and Santanu is from Kotolpur in Bankura.

Dwaipayan's roommate Subhroneel told TOI, "Around midnight, we were informed by another second-year student Rishab Maiti, incidentally a member of the Institute's anti-ragging committee, that we've been asked to meet the fourth-year seniors. Dwaipayan didn't let me go. He went there instead. Once there he was made to write that he'd misbehaved with seniors. They were drunk. After that Shantanu and Prithvijit, took him to the terrace and brutally assaulted him. They silenced him by saying that they'd shove him off the terrace otherwise."

Subhroneel said, "They didn't even let go off him them.

They pushed him down the stairs and entered our room. They hit him with steel utensils and even smashed the glassboard on his head. A few seniors tried to stop them but they paid no heed." Dwaipayan alleged that the seniors even burnt him with cigarette butts. "Later, my friends got me admitted to Bisnupur Hospital. I was released after being given first-aid. after giving first aid I have been released.

But today morning I started vomiting and fell ill. The hostel authorities then admitted me to the hospital once again," Dwaipayan said.

Hospital authorities said that the victim might have suffered internal injuries which could be ascertained after getting CT Scan reports.

On Monday, Bisnupur police took a complaint from Dwaipayan at the hospital and later arrested both the accused who pleaded innocence. They are in police custody have been kept at Bisnupur police station and will be produced in court on Tuesday.

Saran Kumar Sanyal, principal of the institute, Mallabhum Institute of Technology (MIT) told TOI that they have received complaints of ragging from a second-year student. "We have informed the police about the incident and the anti-ragging committee of the college will also probe the incident and take actions," he added.

Incidentally, Dwapipayan's batch-mate Ujjwal Anand , a first year B.Tech Computer Science and Engineering student of MIT in Bisnupur and from Dehri-on- Sone in Bihar fell on the ground from the terrace after being allegedly ragged by senior students, a year ago. Ujjwal is admitted to a Bihar hospital and is still in coma. and is admitted to a Bihar Hospital. by his parents, who are farmers. The College authority had admitted him to a super specialty hospital in Durgapur from Bisnupur SD Hospital after his condition deteriorated. But he failed to respond in treatment and is still in coma.

Committee to probe ragging

KOLKATA: Committee to probe ragging : The first-year Hindi student of Burdwan University, Aloka Mishra, was discharged from Burdwan Medical College Hospital (BMCH) on Thursday afternoon. Mishra , a boarder of Gargi Hostel,

was admitted on Wednesday after alleged ragging by seniors at the hostel. . Her father has taken Mishra back to their home in Asansol, Ganesh Mishra took her silently to her home in HirapurMishra was ragged by seniors at the hostel around 8pm on Wednesday. They even beat her up on charges of stealing mobile phones after which she fell ill.

Sources said that based on Mishra's written complaint to head of the department of Hindi, Rupa Gupta,

a committee was formed on Thursday to probe the incident. The pro vice-chancellor of Burdwan University, Saroshi Mohan Dawn is in New Delhi and was not available for his comments.

The senior girls said that neither of them ragged Mishra. They alleged instead that she had stolen clothes and mobile phones. and in fear of being punished, had brought allegations against them. Mishra refuted all charges and said that the senior girls have been ragging her physically and mentally since November 5. She said that two of her inmates were also ragged.

Mishra refuted the allegations and added, "I fell ill due to their raggingand my friends admitted me to BMCH yesterday evening

RIMS probe into ragging complaint

Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) has set up a three-member committee to probe a ragging case forwarded to it by Ranchi police on Saturday.

RIMS director Tulsi Mahto confirmed this, saying the committee members are medical superintendent S.K. Choudhary and two senior doctors — Sheetal Malua and Dhirendra Birua. The team will have to submit a report within a week.

Mahto, however, refused to divulge more. “Let the matter be investigated first as the ragging took place about a month ago and the complaint reached police through the anti-ragging squad in New Delhi,” he said.

However, Bariatu OC Faguni Paswan, who forwarded the case to RIMS, said: “A first-year student, Sanjay Kumar, had lodged a complaint with the anti-ragging squad in Delhi, accusing a senior of slapping him and demanding Rs 2 lakh for giving him protection.” He did not disclose the name of the accused.

Asked why the student did not inform the RIMS authorities or Ranchi University, sources said he was frightened and had no faith in the institute management, which had tried to hush up the case.

A RIMS official supported the source’s stand. “This is the second time within a month that case of ragging has come to fore at RIMS. Earlier, in mid October a report of ragging with two girl students of institute had come to the fore and following the report, Ranchi University pro-vice chancellor, V.P. Sharan, had set up a two-member probe committee led by dean of student’s welfare C.S.P. Lugun. The team visited the RIMS campus and also submitted its report. But so far its finding has not come to the fore,” a RIMS official said.

Sharan confirmed that a committee was set up but he expressed his inability to say anything about its findings. “The matter is old. I remember that I had set up a committee to probe incident of ragging at RIMS but I do not remember the findings of the committee,” he pointed out.

Five students charged with ragging junior

The police registered cases against five B.Tech. students studying at Warangal Institute of Technology and Science (WITS) on charges of ragging on college campus at Gudeppadu of Atmapur mandal in the district.

It was alleged that a junior student, E. Rohit Reddy, of B.Tech. first year was forced to smoke a cigarette and undress on the road. He brought it to the notice of college authorities who in turn complained to the police.

A senior student, K. Ranapratap, was booked under charges of ragging and four others are being interrogated, police said.

Police probe begins into Sainik School 'ragging'

Kodarma (Jharkhand), Nov 15 (PTI) The police today began questioning 'victims' of Sainik School, Tilaiya, after news channels aired footage of senior students beating up juniors, while the school authorities said the footage was at least a year old. "No FIR has been filed by anyone on the incident. Investigations are on," Koderma Superintendent of Police Shambhu Thakur told PTI over phone. The video showed at least seven students were being beaten up with belts by seniors. But, Thakur said: "Three of them denied to have been beaten up. Another student, now at his home in Gumla, also denied." The police were trying to contact another student, whom the media quoted as saying that he was in Ranchi and scared of returning to school following the incident, said the SP who visited the school yesterday. Registrar of the School, Abhitabh Ranjan, presented one of the students, Sonu Satyam, before an education department official after the media reported that he had fled the school following the 'ragging'. Claiming that the purported video footage shown in the news channels appeared at least one year old, he said one of the guards Chunchun, spotted in the footage, was removed nearly a year ago, indicating the incident to be a year old. Meanwhile, he said, a complaint box was today placed in the school, asking junior students write slips about ragging and put them inside it. So far no slip was found, the registrar added. Following a direction by the Patna High Court to have a probe, District Education Officer Narayan Vishvas visited the school today.

NIT student from Delhi commits suicide

WARANGAL (AP): An MTech student from Delhi at the National Institute of Technology here allegedly committed suicide after jumping from the seventh floor of the hostel building located in the institute campus today, police said.

23-year-old Ankur Bharadwaj, who belongs to Delhi, died on the spot, they said.

"It was still unclear what forced him to take the extreme step," a senior police officer said, adding initial investigations said he was of a spiritual nature.

He was said to be confused as to whether to continue with his studies and become a professor or to become a spiritual guru, the officer said, rejecting media reports that alleged ragging by seniors drove him to end his life.

Eight students suspended for ragging

Ghaziabad: Eight students of a management institute in Sahibabad here were suspended from college on Thursday after they were found guilty of ragging their juniors.

"These students have been causing a lot of trouble for the newcomers. After a discussion with the college's management, we have decided to suspend them," Chairman of the institute H P Gupta said.

He said the names of the students have been sent to the District Magistrate and the Ghaziabad SSP to initiate legal action against them.

‘Ragging’ at marine engineering college

KOLKATA, 25 OCT: A student of a private marine engineering college at Sankrail in Howrah today lodged a complaint alleging that he and some other second-year students were ragged by their seniors.
Rajib Ganguly (name changed), a second-year student of Bachelor of Nautical Science, said seven students of the third year beat him up and some of his classmates on 23 October night after they refused to do some odd jobs ordered by their seniors. “The torture is now unbearable,” he said.
Even after repeated requests and appeal the college authorities did not take any steps. Instead they suspended a victim considering him to be the root of all trouble, he alleged.
He alleged that the third year students torture their juniors in connivance with the hostel warden. “They took us to the hostel warden's room on 23 October night and forced us to write that we have beaten up some students of third year.”
Rajib's parents have brought him back home. They would send their ward back to the hostel once the environment improves, his mother said.
A police officer said that a clash broke out between two groups of students following a scuffle. But, the police are probing whether the clash broke out after the second-year students protested against ragging. The college authorities could not be contacted.

Engineering student ''fakes'' ragging

Guntur (AP), Oct 23 (PTI) Allegedly upset over admonishment by his father for ignoring studies, a student of a private polytechnic college in the district today "faked" ragging and tried to blame it on senior students, police said.

G Gopi Vijaya, a first year student of a polytechnic college in Chilakaluripet town of the district, consumed a small quantity of pesticide in his hostel room and created a scene alleging he was ragged by senior students who made him to consume pesticide, they said.

According to police, Gopi was admonished by his father for neglecting studies and faked the entire incident.

He was rushed to a private hospital and is "out of danger," they said.

Blamed for ragging, students told to leave hostel in Amritsar

AMRITSAR: The students of architecture department of Guru Nanak Dev University who were blamed for ragging their juniors were on Saturday told to vacate their hostel rooms.

On October 17, sources said some first-year students of the architecture department were ragged by those studying the third-year of the course in the same department. Victims made a written complaint to dean student welfare Mohan Pal S Ishar, who formed a disciplinary committee to probe the matter.

Those blamed were questioned on October 18, and they confessed to their wrongdoing. Sources said the dean recommended the action to vice-chancellor A S Brar that the students be asked to leave the hostel, and the VC approved the recommendation.

Dean student welfare Ishar told TOI that "nine students of the third-year were involved in the ragging incident". "They tortured the juniors mentally and told them to do odd acts," Ishar said.

Ragging accused escape campus - Cops question principal

Muzaffarpur, Oct. 21: Police today quizzed the principal of Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology (MIT), Dhuruv Prasad, in connection with the alleged ragging of Pankaj Kumar, a first-year student, who fled the institute on Wednesday night.

The police said Prasad refuted Pankaj’s claim that the latter met him with a ragging complaint against his seniors.

Deputy superintendent of police (town), Baccha Singh said the principal said Pankaj had applied for college-leaving certificate to prepare for competitive banking (probationary officer) examinations.

Pankaj, a student of information technology, had claimed in his police complaint that five college seniors ragged him for over seven days (since October 13) after which he decided to leave the college.

The police today conducted a search operation in the hostels to interrogate the five accused.

However, all five seniors have fled the institute fearing trouble after the FIR. Singh said: “The Barhampura police have been asked to procure addresses of the accused from the MIT office.”

Prasad told the police that Pankaj was unable to cope with the study pressure and denied having met the student ever. The police have recorded his statement.

Singh said that Pankaj told him over the phone from Munger that Prasad was lying about the meeting to protect institution and its “wayward” senior students from legal action. Pankaj claimed the principal is hand-in-glove with the tormentors.

The DSP also said Pankaj refuted the principal’s claim of taking bank probationary officer examination as he is not yet a graduate, a criterion for appearing in such tests.

Law students allege ragging in hostel

ALLAHABAD: In an alleged case of ragging, some LLB-I year students of Allahabad University who were inmates of Shatabadi Hostel were ragged by LLB-V year semester students outside the hostel.

According to reports, the victims were reportedly verbally abused, threatened and made to perform sit-ups for failing to recognize and extend due salutations to a LLB 5th semester student by him and two of his friends. The three, who were not inmates of the said hostel, were in an inebriated state and one of them even took out a country-made weapon to force them to do their command.

The university officials, who are treating this as an incident of clash between two groups of students, have begun an inquiry. "I have received the complaint. Prima facie it seems to be an incident of clash between two groups of students, which some vested interests are trying to give a shape of ragging. An inquiry panel had been formed by me and the matter is being looked into," said the chief proctor Prof Jata Shankar. But as per the complaint filed by the freshers with the hostel and the university officials, the incident took place on Sunday night at around 10.30 pm. According to the reports, four LLB I semester students of section-B of Law Faculty and inmates of Shatabadi Hostel - Pankaj, Mayank, Gyanendra and Mrityunjay- were taking a post-dinner walk near the hostel gate when a LLB 5th semester student Vaibhav along with two others whom they did not recognise cornered them and demanded that they perform sit-ups for failing to greet their seniors.

The LLB-I students then lodged a complaint regarding ragging with the Dean Students Welfare (DSW) Prof RK Singh and their course coordinator Prof BP Singh on Monday, both of whom forwarded the complaint to the AU proctor Prof Jata Shankar.

According to reports, the victims were reportedly verbally abused, threatened and made to perform sit-ups for failing to recognize and extend due salutations to a LLB 5th semester student by him and two of his friends.

Assolna boy beaten in Belgaum

Margao/BELGAUM: Assolna resident Stavlon Cardozo, a second year student at an engineering college in Belgaum, was hit by one of his seniors allegedly with an iron rod late Sunday evening. Cardozo was rushed to KLES hospital, where he is undergoing treatment, sources said. Cardozo's parents rushed to Belgaum on Monday after being informed about the incident and their son's hospitalization.

Speaking to TOI from Belgaum, Cardozo family members said that the boy was still in the ICU, but doctors have pronounced him out of danger. "He has sustained head injuries. His condition is now improving," the family member said. The incident took place after an argument between Stavlon and his assailant at the hostel mess on Friday morning.

"The senior barged into Stavlon's room and assaulted him with an iron rod," the family member said.

The college chairperson Rajashri Halagekar has denied that the incident had taken place due to ragging.

MBA student ends life due to ‘ragging’

Tirupati, October 23: A 21-year-old MBA first year student Sinduja committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling in her house at Puttur on Thursday night due to alleged ragging by her senior.

The incident came to light late as the girl's family members chose not to approach the police or question the management over the reasons for their daughter's death. Sinduja was a student of Siddhartha College in Puttur and her family shifted from their native village Madanambedu in Satyavedu mandal to Puttur for her studies. She had resorted to the extreme act at around 8 p.m when her parents were not in the house.

The family secretly shifted the body to the girl's grandmother's village in Nellore and performed the last rites. Puttur police said as they had not received any complaint from the girl's parents so far, no case was registered. It is being rumoured the girl had purportedly written in her diary the reason for her suicide as ragging. The family members are tight lipped over the incident raising doubts whether the girl took the extreme step due to ragging or family problems.

Ragging raises its ugly head in city college

Two first year students of Samvaad Institute of Speech and Hearing, Hebbal, had filed a complaint with the police claiming they were humiliated by their seniors. Police find seven girls to be involved in the incidents

Some call it the ‘initiation process’ and others ‘getting familiar’, but for two first year students of Samvaad Institute of Speech and Hearing, Hebbal, it was plain ragging at its very worst.

Mudassir Ali and Vishal Kumar Mourya, students of the Bachelor in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology (BSLPA) course, claim that they were ordered by their seniors to demonstrate how to commit suicide, make out with a pillow, dance nude and run chores. All as part of ragging sessions. It got to a point where the students could stand it no longer.
They complained to the college administration, but with no action being taken, Mourya, who hails from Delhi, filed a complaint with the anti-ragging squad in Delhi. The Delhi unit in turn asked the Hebbal police to investigate the matter. Police investigations have revealed one startling fact: Of the 10 accused in the case, seven are girls. They are all students of the Master in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (MASLP) course.

The incident has left college authorities stunned and flies in the face of state government claims that ragging has been rooted out from college campuses. Police arrested one of three male students accused in the case, while the two other boys are absconding. The girls have been let off with a warning that they would be expelled from the college and would also be arrested if they are found indulging in ragging again.

Classes for the undergraduate course began in the third week of September and the ragging began almost immediately.

In their complaint with the anti-ragging squad, Mourya and Ali claim they were made to demonstrate the act of committing suicide by hanging from a ceiling fan and were forced to strip in front of the female students and dance naked. They were even forced to sweep the rooms of their seniors and do chores like carrying water.

The complaint with the anti-ragging squad was filed on September 30 and Hebbal police were informed on October 1. The next day, police arrested one of the accused.

Fearing reprisals from his seniors, Mourya returned to his home in Delhi. Meanwhile, Ali was expelled from the college because he “had not submitted proper documents at the time of admission”.

The Samvaad Institute filed a counter complaint at the Hebbal police station on October 3 claiming that Ali, Mourya and the student arrested by the police had misbehaved at a party to welcome new students on October 1 and had also created nuisance in front of the girls’ hostel on the morning of October 3.

Police, however, say that Mourya could not have been a party to the October 3 incident — if indeed there was such an incident — as he had left for Delhi on October 2.

Mohammed Sharif Ravuthara, inspector, Hebbal police station, said, “We arrested one student on October 2. On October 3 the college administration registered a complaint against Mourya and Ali for creating nuisance near ladies’ hostel and disturbance at the college function.”

When contacted, Radhika Pooviah, principal of Samvaad institute, said, “We have suspended all the three boys involved in the incident for a week. The girls have been warned. Mourya has just returned for exams, while Ali is not a student of our college. He came for 10 days just to see the college.”