Two law students held for ragging, assault

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/two-law-students-held-for-ragging-assault/article4504060.ece 

“Six men assaulted for refusal to comply with orders to dance and do sit-ups” Two law students have been arrested for allegedly ragging and thereafter assaulting and intimidating a first year student of Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre in Delhi last week.

 The victim alleged that six men had assaulted him following his refusal to comply with the orders of his seniors to dance and do sit-ups. Amit Kumar, a resident of Bhai Parmanand Colony, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Law degree at the Centre, alleged that the assault was a consequence of an argument he had with two of his seniors on March 7, the second day of the college’s annual fest which he was attending along with other fellow students.

 The victim had complained that it was there that two of his seniors, Chandan Kumar and Narendra Yadav (both students of second year in the same course), came to him and asked him to join them for a dancing session in the college ground. “I refused but they kept insisting and even forced me to join them. I did not relent and left for home,” said Amit.

 According to Amit, the following day while he was sitting outside his classroom with a few friends, Chandan and Narendra accompanied by several others reached there. They took the victim to a corner and ordered him to do sit-ups but once again, Amit refused to give in to their demands and tried to leave.

 “At this, Narendra and Chandan waylaid me and along with their accomplices started punching and kicking me. When they saw several others coming, they left but threatened everyone present there of dire consequences if they told anyone about the incident,” he said.

 Amit immediately made a call to the Police Control Room upon which several policemen reached the college. Amit also told the police that his wallet containing some money and important documents was missing since the incident. Based on his complaint, a case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341(wrongful restraint), 379 (theft), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) was registered by the police against the accused.

 The victim said that since the incident took place on the last working day before the Centre’s mid-term vacations, due to which there were no classes for a week from March 10, he could not inform the college authorities.

 Both Chandan and Narendra were arrested from their house on Monday and were produced at a local court on Tuesday which sent them to judicial custody. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sindhu Pillai said the four other accused have also been identified and a search has been launched for them.

Delhi architecture student alleges ragging by seniors

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-architecture-student-alleges-ragging-by-seniors/article4272149.ece

 It all happened on September 2; FIR on December 30 after victim’s father approached Jharkhand High Court A Bachelor of Architecture first year student at the School of Planning & Architecture here was allegedly ragged by some of his seniors in the hostel causing him injuries.

 A case has been registered at the New Friends Colony police station in this connection. Though the incident took place this past September 2, the First Information Report (FIR) was registered on December 30 after repeated complaints to the institute officials did not evoke any response and the victim’s father, a resident of Ranchi, approached the Jharkhand High Court.

 According to the FIR, the victim was in his hostel at Taimoor Nagar when some students of Bachelor of Architecture (II) tortured him mentally and physically causing injuries to his knee. “His seniors called him along with his classmates to the terrace and began roughing them up. They put bricks on his back and asked him to do push-ups and hurled abuses at him.

 He was then asked to place his hands parallel to shoulders and hold bricks on them. It continued for almost six hours till 4 a.m.,” said the victim’s father, claiming that the seniors were in large numbers and his son knew five of them by their names. The victim told his father about the incident over phone on September 3 and reached his hometown a week later.

 His father then wrote to the institute seeking action, but there was no response. He then filed a writ in the Jharkhand High Court on November 26. “The injuries inflicted on my son have not just caused him physical and mental pain, but also caused loss of studies as well as he will be under treatment for more than three months. It also caused financial burden on the family,” said the victim’s father. A case has been registered under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code. Keywords: School of Planning & Architecture, ragging allegation, New Friends Colony police station

Seniors ragged me, hit me with stick: Student

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-18/delhi/32298134_1_first-year-student-senior-cop-judicial-custody

NEW DELHI: A first-year student of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute for the Physically Handicapped was allegedly ragged and assaulted by three of his seniors after he refused to pay one of them a paltry sum of Rs 250. The victim's statement (a copy of which is with TOI), says the incident occurred around 9.30pm after he returned to his hostel after having dinner. He had barely entered his room when one of his seniors, Shubham Bhardwaj, stopped him and asked him to cough up the sum or bring him a bottle of whiskey.

 "He was ragging me. He claimed to have won a bet and told me that I owed him either the money or the alcohol. When I refused to pay him, he picked up an ice-cream brick kept on my table and walked away. When I protested, he hit me on the head with a wicket," the victim said. The victim called the cops and was taken to LNJP hospital. The next day, Shubham, who had gone missing for a while, approached the victim again and asked him to compromise. He was accompanied by two of his friends, Vikas and Deepak.

The trio were in a foul mood as they had got to know that the victim had approached the police. "The other two held my hands and Shubham began to thrash me with a stick. hey kicked and punched me several times and didn't stop even though I was bleeding. One my classmates tried to intervene but he also ended up receiving blows," the victim said. For the second time, the victim was rushed to the hospital and admitted to the emergency ward. For a while, he wasn't in a position to talk.

The nature of his injuries was so severe that he couldn't even sign the statement. Cops had to make do with his thumb impression, said a source. A case of attempt to commit culpable homicide was registered at a central Delhi police station. All three students were arrested and sent to judicial custody, said a senior cop.

Two Ramjas final-year students suspended in ragging case

Delhi University’s Ramjas College has suspended two third-year students, after receiving complaints that they were involved in ragging students on campus.

Based on complaints received by the college anti-ragging committee in the last week of February, two third-year students have been suspended, pending enquiry,” said Dr P N Duttagupta, Vice-Principal and head of the college disciplinary committee.

The anti-ragging committee had received complaints against seven students, five of whom have been let off with a warning. Two have been suspended, and face expulsion if found guilty.

“Two of the students against whom the complaint was received on February 27 were found to have been greatly involved in the ragging incident, so they have been suspended and were asked to present themselves before the anti-ragging committee on March 14. The committee is still enquiring into the issue, and no other details can be revealed now. In the case of the other five students, the involvement was found to be minor by the committee so they have been let off with a warning,” Dr Duttagupta said.

Of those suspended, one is a final-year BA programme student, while the other is a final-year BSc Physics Honours student.

They were suspended with immediate effect on March 12 by the Principal for “anti-disciplinary and ragging activities in college, as per the directions of the college anti-ragging committee”, and were also banned from entering the campus.

Second-year Hindu College student ragged

NEW DELHI: Even as college authorities are claiming that strict measures are in place to check ragging, an incident of ragging of a second year student of Hindu College on North Campus by his seniors has come to light. According to the complainant, the second-year student was insulted inside the college auditorium in the presence of other students.

This report comes even as Delhi Police is searching for the elusive students of Dyal Singh College and Delhi College of Arts and Commerce who had called up the UGC's anti-ragging helpline number claiming they were being ragged at their respective colleges.

According to sources, the senior student had asked the BSc second year student of Hindu College to hurl abuses at himself in front of a packed hall of 60 students. When the victim refused to heed to the commands, he was allegedly laughed at by those present inside the hall. The victim later registered a written complaint with the college authorities. When contacted, DCP (North) I B Rani denied having received a formal complaint. "Probably, they are dealing with the case at the college level first,'' she said.

According to sources, Anurag was interviewed by the theatre society office-bearers on Wednesday evening. "When the senior student asked him if he has sought someone's recommendation, the victim replied that he could not arrange one. The senior then asked him to hurl abuses at himself in front of 50-60 students present inside the auditorium. He hesitated initially but later he did as directed. The students present in the auditorium then made fun of him,'' claimed a source.

Meanwhile, the south district police denied having received any complaint from the parents of the deceased IIT first year student alleging ragging as the reason behind the suicide. "The postmortem of victim has said that there was no foul play. We have spoken to Dinesh Ahlawat's classmates and hostel mates, and they have all said that he had not been attending classes for the past two days. We are yet to find the exact reason behind the incident,'' said Chhaya Sharma, DCP (South).

Sources, however, claimed that the deceased was not happy with the course that he was pursuing and was also missing his home at Rohtak. Dinesh had secured 95% in Class XII boards and had got 1097th rank in the IIT entrance exam.

A second-year student of Hindu College was insulted inside the college auditorium in the presence of other students

Ramjas student suspended for ragging

New Delhi, September 24, 2010

Ramjas College on Thursday suspended a BSc student for allegedly ragging his classmate earlier this month. Principal Rajendra Prasad, on the recommendation of a sub-committee of the anti-ragging panel, has also banned the student's entry in the college.
According to the college order, the student will face suspension "till further orders". The next meeting of the anti-ragging committee is scheduled on September 27.

The ragging incident came to light on September 9 when Ritwiz Rai, a first-year student of BSc (Honours) physics, filed a complaint with the college authorities. He accused Rajiv Kumar, from the first-year batch of BSc (Honours) mathematics, of beating him up with the help of senior students.

Though Kumar is also a first year student, the principal forwarded the complaint to the anti-ragging committee as he has failed his examination twice. "So technically, Kumar is senior and he attacked Rai with the help of his third-year friends. In this context, it is a case of ragging," Prasad said.

"The incident took place in the first week of September. Rai was beaten up when he tried to stop a few seniors from ragging his friend near the college canteen. The CCTV footage shows that nine senior students along with Kumar had thrashed him. Rai's left eye is badly hurt," said Tanvir Aeijaz Alam, a member of the college anti-ragging committee. This is the first instance of ragging reported from a Delhi University institution in the new academic year.

PG student subjected to ragging at MAMC

A first year postgraduate student at Maulana Azad Medical College, the teaching wing of Lok Nayak Hospital, was allegedly ragged in the hostel premises by a group of seniors on Sunday night. The 23-year-old student specialising in medicine had lodged a complaint with the dean as well as the Delhi Police on Monday, alleging "misbehaviour/ragging" by a group of five seniors from the department.
The Dean Dr AK Agarwal has constituted anti-ragging committee of three members comprising Dr Veena Choudhary, Dr Swaraj Batra and Dr Richa Diwan to look into the incident.

"It was brought to our notice on Monday. We formed a fact finding committee the same day and on Tuesday after they submitted a report, we forwarded it to the apex committee. The next course of action will depend on the report that is expected to be submitted by this week," said Dr Agarwal.

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.

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.

Now, AIIMS students in ragging row

TNN 24 August 2009, 12:49am IST

NEW DELHI: After JNU, it's the turn of another premier institute to be in the news for an alleged incident of ragging. According to sources at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, three students were found ragging their juniors on Friday evening. A formal inquiry has been constituted, with the report expected on Tuesday.

The incident allegedly occurred earlier in the week, when two students were found in the hostel room of a senior by the hostel warden. According to highly placed sources in AIIMS, three senior students, including an intern, were with the freshers. The matter was reported to the hostel superintendent, who in turn informed the institute authorities. Said dean of students, Dr Rani Kumar, "On August 20, there was a freshers' party in the institute. Our anti-ragging squad, which conducts surprise raids till August 31, found some freshers in the room of a senior. The seniors claimed they were interacting about study material. However, the matter has been taken up and an inquiry constituted to verify the details of the incident."

Sources say a formal complaint was filed only on Saturday morning by hostel authorities. No student has formally complained. Though no one in the institute was willing to provide details, sources admitted that the incident fell within the parameters of ragging as defined by the Supreme Court.

AIIMS officials said that an inquiry, under the dean, had been constituted by the director of the institute, with the report expected on Tuesday. Added Dr Kumar, "Since all the freshers had left over the weekend for their local guardians' residences, questioning could not be done. Once they are back on Monday, the report will be filed to the director by Tuesday."

Meanwhile, the dean will also be addressing all freshers on Monday to ascertain about other incidents that may have taken place. A separate round of questioning of seniors on the matter will also take place. Sources claim the move comes after the parent of one of the students called up the institute authorities regarding the incident.

The incident, which comes close on the heels of JNU suspending its students for ragging some days ago, is a wake-up call for the institute which was one of the first to constitute an anti-ragging squad, say sources.

New ragging cases surface in JNU

Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN 19 August 2009, 12:19am IST

NEW DELHI: What was being seen as a one-off complaint about ragging on August 12 seems to have opened a can of worms at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). Following a three-day investigation and questioning of over 40 students, 15 more showcause notices were issued on Tuesday. Interestingly, the investigation team has come across new cases of ragging in the current academic session which had gone unreported so far.

Meanwhile, even as the proctoral team completed its investigation and has the report ready, it will not be submitting it as scheduled since the vice-chancellor is not available. "We are going to submit the report only on Thursday as the VC is not available now,'' said H B Bohidar, chief proctor, JNU.

On August 12, a first-semester MCA student, Balbir Chand, had made a complaint about being ragged to the dean of students' welfare. Following this, the anti-ragging committee caught red-handed four senior students of MCA indulging in the act of ragging at Sabarmati hostel. The four were placed under expulsion from hostel the next day and an inquiry was instituted.

However, the incident came as an eye-opener for JNU administration, as the inquiry committee came across fresh unreported incidents of ragging. The committee has issued 19 showcause notices, including the four issued earlier to the expelled students. The students who have been served the showcause notice have been asked to furnish an explanation by Wed evening.

Speaking to Times City, Bohidar said: "In the past three days we have questioned over 40 students, both seniors and juniors. We had a meeting till late evening on Tuesday and decided to issue showcause notices to 15 more students all from MCA third-semester as to why action should not be taken against them for indulging in ragging. This is a new twist to the investigations as we came across past incidents of ragging from the current academic session which have not been reported.''

Meanwhile, the JNU administration said it would take the strictest action if anyone was found guilty of ragging. This is the first time incidents of ragging are coming to light in JNU in 40 years. Rector II of JNU, Ram Adhikari Kumar, said: "The investigation team has really worked on an urgency note and is now fine tuning the report. Once the culprits are identified after the report is submitted and the inquiry comes to a conclusion, the university would not hesitate to take action against the accused.''

JNU students ragged, accused removed from hostel

IANS 13 August 2009, 08:38pm IST

In a "shocking and first of its kind incident" in the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), at least eight students of the varsity here were ragged by their seniors in a hostel room, authorities said on Thursday.

"We are shocked. It has never happened on our campus," JNU proctor Neera Kongari said. "The victims were fresh MCA (Masters in Computer Application) students and those who ragged them are semester third and fourth students. It is a first of its kind and sad incident in our university, and we are going to take the strongest action," she said.

The incident took place in Tapti hostel Wednesday night. Kongari said there were five to six students who were ragging their juniors.

"The anti-ragging committee got a tip-off about the incident and conducted the raid. They caught them red handed. We have already withdrawn the accused students from the hostel," Kongari said.

"Further inquiry is on. We will take stringent action so that such an act is never repeated on our campus," she said.

When asked about the time line of real action and if they will be rusticated from the university, Kongari said: "The real action may take place next week as there are a few holidays this week. But authorities are consulting each other about the decision and soon you will see the result."

"We have a code, under that the strongest punishment will be given," she reiterated. According to police at the Vasant Vihar police station (JNU falls under its jurisdiction), no official communication or complaint from the varsity authorities has been received yet.

Robin, a student from the same hostel, said: "We are shocked at the development. But many of us believe that it was more of an introductory thing than ragging."

On Aug 3, the Kirori Mal College (KMC) in Delhi University's north xcampus expelled two students and rusticated another for allegedly ragging a junior in the hostel. Delhi Police have registered a case against two students.

The KMC authorities received a complaint from a first-year B.Sc. student, Ashutosh, that he was ragged and sexually harassed by two third-year students - Akshay Chaudhary and Hani Mohammad - in the college hostel the day before.

The Supreme Court has asked educational institutions to observe zero tolerance towards ragging. During the past year, India witnessed 88 cases of ragging, of which 12 proved fatal.

Kirori Mal College expels two students for ragging

IANS 3 August 2009, 06:09pm IST


NEW DELHI: Delhi University's Kirori Mal College Monday expelled two students and rusticated another for allegedly ragging a junior in the hostel and decided to file a police complaint.

The accused, however, have denied the charges and said their side of the story was not heard.

The college authorities received a complaint from a first year BSc (Physical Science) student Ashutosh that he was being ragged and sexually harassed by two third-year students - Akshay Chaudhary and Hani Mohammad - in the college hostel Sunday evening.

"We have decided to expel both the students and will register a police complaint for physically, sexually and mentally harassing a junior student. We have also rusticated another third-year student for sending Ashutosh to his seniors," Principal Bhim Sen Singh told reporters here.

The decision to expel the students was taken at a meeting of the college disciplinary and anti-ragging committee. The victim and the students accused of ragging were asked to appear before the committee but none of them turned up.

"It is a very serious case and I took the decision to expel the students with a heavy heart as I know their whole career will be spoiled," Singh said.

"But I think it was needed as tough action against them will set an example to other students not to dare rag juniors. The decision will give confidence to juniors to come out openly against ragging," the principal added.

According to Singh, the victim did not turn up before the committee but spoke with him over phone. "He is disturbed and shocked after the incident. I tried to counsel him to boost his morale. He has shifted out of the hostel and is staying with his local guardian," said Singh.

The expelled students have denied the charges, saying it was only a formal introduction and the victim took it seriously. "Ashutosh came to our room saying somebody has asked him to meet us. I just asked his personal details like name, school and his native place," said Hani Mohammed.

"There was another junior sitting in my room and he asked about ragging when we joined college. I told him it was serious during those days. I said the most common ragging was smile wipe where we were told to smile and then wipe it off by moving our fingers over lips. I asked Ashutosh to do the same but he refused and I said ok. Nothing else happened," said Hani.

Akshay Chaudhary said he did not even talk to Ashutosh and was just present there as he shares the room with Hani.

"After Ashutosh left, Hani received a threatening call from his elder brother. In the evening, the hostel warden called us and without hearing us reported the matter to the college management," Akshay said.

The two said they were not told about the disciplinary committee meeting. "We want to meet the principal and explain everything. Nobody told us we have to be present in the meeting. The decision has been taken without taking our view," said Akshay.

Many students criticised the college's decision and raised slogans within the campus. "There is no clear-cut definition of ragging. Asking juniors their name and other details is just a way to make them open up," said Rakhi Gupta, a second-year student.

"Expelling two students will not act as a deterrent and ragging will continue. Authorities need to think of what can be done by taking students along to curb the menace," said another student.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sagar Preet Hooda said the police are yet to receive a formal complaint from the college.

"The college has informed us about the incident but we are yet to receive a complaint," Hooda said. Delhi University's current academic session started July 16 with tough anti-ragging measures being implemented with the help of Delhi Police.

During the past year, the country witnessed 88 cases of ragging, of them 12 proved fatal.

Rag(ging) and rants at top business school

By: Amit Singh Date: 2009-07-24 Place:Delhi


IIFT fresher ragged by seniors allegedly in an inebriated state

It's the dream institute for any aspiring management student, but for this fresher of Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), the experience of the first few days was nothing less than a nightmare. Ragged by seven to eight seniors, the fresher was made to run around the college for more than half-an-hour and was asked to stand in front of the girl's hostel and shout at the highest decibel possible.

The email (a copy of which is with MiD DAY), that was written by the student's father around 1 am on July 5, read: "I am extremely sad to say that my son rang me up half-an- hour ago, complaining about the harassment faced from some of the senior students. The seniors he said were drunk and were harassing him and a few other students by asking vulgar and obscene things. This happened for around 45 minutes. And later, the seniors made my son and others run around the college and they were asked to shout things outside the girl's hostel."

"My son, pursing MBA in International Business (IB), told me there were about seven to eight seniors but he could identify only four Amandeep Mattaa, Saurabh Sipani, Sujoy and Ankit Bhutani. It is shocking to know that students holding positions in the student's bodies are also involved in this activity. Being a concerned parent, I just wanted to bring this to your notice so that such acts don't take bad form," the mail further read.

It seems ragging is still not a taboo in colleges, and instances like these only strengthen the seriousness of the act. "After receiving the email, the four students were asked to leave the hostel immediately. However, a number of junior students requested us to revoke the action against them. Later, we also received an email from the student's father requesting not to punish the boys mentioned in the earlier email," said Dr L D Mago, registrar, IIFT.

When MID DAY tried to know the version of Ankit Bhutani, one of the students named in the email, who is also the current president of the student's body, he refused to speak saying, "It's none of your business."

On request of anonymity, a First Year student of IIFT said, "Our session started from July 1 and from the same day, we were asked to line up at the seminar hall at night, which is in depleted condition with poor ventilators.

All 159 students were then made to sit in that room for hours along with few seniors. With no air conditioner and window, we kept sweating for hours.

"Though ragging was not harsh but it was no doubt embarrassing. The seniors made us introduce ourselves, sing, dance and act. All this happened till one or two in the night and continued for four to five days. In the morning, we have yoga sessions from six and hardly get three to four hours of sleep. This 'fun-session' of seniors continued for a week, before it finally stopped," added the student.

IIFT is one of the prestigious B-schools in the country, which was set up in 1963 by the government to provide foreign trade management expertise and increase exports.

Status check

According to a report by the Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), a voluntary group, the number of ragging cases reported (between July 2008 and June 2009) are 88; number of ragging deaths are 12 and number of attempted suicides (due to ragging) are five. The previous year had 89 cases out of which 11 resulted in deaths and there were five attempted suicides.

The court says

Following the death of Amann Satya Kachroo, a First Year MBBS student of Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC), Himachal Pradesh, due to ragging in March, the Supreme Court directed all state governments to constitute committees to look into the incidents of ragging and take measures for de-addiction in cases of alcoholism. The apex court also stated that every college should have a psychiatrist to provide counsel to the students

2nd day into session, DU gets ragging complaint

New Delhi, July 18 Second day into Session 2008-09, Delhi University received its first official complaint of ragging on Thursday night. The report came from Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur College of Nursing, Lajpat Nagar.
According to reports, two BSc (Hons) Nursing students were allegedly harassed in the women’s college’s hostel.
Deputy dean of the college Dinesh C Varshney said he got a call at 10.55 pm Thursday from one of the victims’ father. “He sought our help,” Varshney said.
Varshney immediately rang up the college but with no one taking the call, he reached the institution along with other officials to examine the complaint.
“We went to their (hostel) room and talked to the victim,” Varshney said. “They were in tears — they said a few seniors had harassed them.” The girls also told the deputy dean that barring a few, each fresher had undergone some form of ragging.
The seniors who had allegedly ragged the freshers had fled by then, officials said.
College authorities, however, refused to divulge much — they refused to part with identity of either the victims or the accused.
Principal in-charge Dr Kalpana Mandal told Newsline that the college is looking into the complaint: “Strict action will be taken as per Delhi University guidelines against anyone found guilty.”
According to officials, a detailed written report was given to university Vice-Chancellor Deepak Pental on Friday morning. College authorities refused to comment whether a police complaint has been lodged.
According to officials, the college has now formed a management committee to investigate the matter.

DU colleges begin session amidst ragging fear

COLLEGE BEGAN today for the newly joined students as the academic session of the Delhi University began in right earnest at the Delhi University colleges.

Amidst worries of ragging, the new students were excited as they entered college life making a smooth transition from being school kids to being college youth. Most of the youngsters were dot on time for the their first day in college, which will remain etched in their memories for long time to come.

To ensure that the ragging does not turn ugly on the campus, the Delhi University authorities have take several steps to check the menace.
Squads comprising senior teachers have been formed and stationed throughout the campus.

In addition, the colleges have also installed CCTV cameras to keep a watch on the activities on the college precinct to ensure no untoward happenings takes place. To sensitise the students, posters on ragging have also been put at several places on the campus.

The year’s beginning has though been marred by the controversy at the prestigious quota controversy at the St Stephen College. College teachers are opposed to the plan of college administration of introducing quota in faculty for Christians.

There has been opposition to the proposal of pro-tem administrator of having quota for Christian teachers.

[ToI] Colleges target ragging with CCTVs, patrol

Link to report

NEW DELHI: If Delhi University has its way, ragging may soon become extinct.

Colleges are going all out to stop it — setting up anti-ragging committees, giving out special numbers to students to lodge complaints, distributing booklets on the evils of ragging and sensitising students through the use of posters and lectures. And if that's not enough, the university has also, in association with the Delhi Police, ensured there's mobile patrolling, more pickets and two joint control rooms to monitor the campuses in the first few days of the new academic session.

Ragging is certainly the target in colleges like LSR and Ramjas, where authorities are planning to distribute booklets on the evils of ragging. This is besides the usual committees that will be set up to monitor student activity from Wednesday onwards, when college re-opens. Of course, if the committees don't seem enough, there's always the CCTVs that some college have put up. Hans Raj has, for the first time, set up four CCTV cameras to ensure that discipline is maintained, while Kirori Mal had already installed cameras last admission season. Said Hans Raj principal, S R Arora, "The measures are only in place to ensure no untoward incidents take place."

Off campus colleges too seem serious about anti-ragging measures. Said Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College principal, S K Garg, "There has been no ragging in our college for almost eight years now. As the students don't get ragged by their seniors, they do not rag their juniors either." Other colleges are preferring to increase awareness than put up strict arrangements.

Sunil Sondhi, principal, Maharaja Agrasen College, said, "We just make our students understand right on the first day that every person has a dignity that needs to be respected, not only in the first few days but through the three years that they spend in the college."

The university has also introduced many measures to ensure no ragging incident takes place. The steps, which have been made mandatory for all colleges, include restricted entry to both hostels and colleges, as well as setting up of a formal redressal system where students complaints are to be dealt with immediately. Hostels are to be kept under strict vigil, with the university asking colleges to ensure that regular and sudden inspections are made.

Colleges have been asked not to allow guests to stay in the hostel in the initial few weeks of reopening of the colleges.

Sealed complaint boxes will also be put up in colleges so that students can file complaints without revealing their identity.

[Hindu] Dancing to the beat of ‘no ragging’

Link to report

Parul Sharma

NEW DELHI: As a new batch of students begins its campus life at Delhi University this Wednesday, a non-government organisation working towards elimination of ragging has launched a song and video to combat the nuisance.

The video is available online at www.noragging.com/video

Founded in 2001, the Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE) has carried out several campaigns to weed out ragging, including observing “No Ragging Day” on October 11.

It has also worked as a consultant body to the Raghavan Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to monitor measures to prevent ragging in higher educational institutions.

“The USP of the song and video is that it is not only the first of its kind on ragging, but the lyrics of the song, the composition, singing and the design of video have all been done by first-year students,” says Harsh Agarwal, a CURE member.

This latest venture, believes CURE co-founder Varun Aggarwal, will add a new dimension to the campaign against ragging. “The campaigns till now have been preachy, while the youth of today do not like to take orders. They want to know why they should not indulge in ragging. This is what the video does in a beautiful and convincing way,” he explains.

[IndiaEduNews] Ragging - The first social encounter at college

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July 14, 2008

New Delhi: Come mid July and all the universities and colleges across the country will be agog with excitement. With the commencement of the new academic session, students look forward to serious academics, besides receiving the freshers in their midst.

That is where the phenomenon called ragging comes into the picture.

The Central Government may have banned ragging, in all forms, in all educational institutions; freshers however, take ragging as a means of interaction with their seniors and vice-versa.

The word ragging, according to the Oxford Dictionary, means fund raising programme of stunts, parades, and entertainment organized by students. That is how it is done in most of the western universities, from which, incidentally, we Indians have borrowed and adapted what is known as college ragging.

Ragging has become an annual 'tradition' in which the victims are solely the freshers.

This ritual is more of 'tradition' and gets its strength from the fact that those ragged in the first year see to it that they have their revenge next year when they are in the 'driver's seat'.

Ragging gains its justification from the fact that it 'breaks the ice' between the seniors and the freshers. It is basically envisaged to be some kind of 'interaction', they say. But interaction is a two-sided affair where both the sides put forth something about each other.

Contrary to this, here the only one who tells anything about himself/herself is the fresher, that too in a way, which his senior will like.

It is also considered a grow-up tonic by the raggers, which is a must for the freshers as they stand on the threshold of a new world.

Many individuals generally confuse ragging with bullying. It must be made absolutely clear that ragging is not bullying. The differences are subtle but well defined. Ragging has a large number of people involved in it and is quite prevalent, though it is not so with bullying.

Tips for freshers:

- Do not dress snazzily, it will catch attention.

- Keep a low profile.

- Move about in groups. If the seniors catch a few of you together, you will not be too nervous.

- If things go out of bounds, report to the authorities. Remember law prohibits ragging.


Tips for the seniors:

- Originally ragging was meant to be form of social interaction, light hearted way to meet the freshers and to get acquainted with them. Make an effort to adhere to this ideology.

- The freshers are by and large a timid lot. You ought to try and make them comfortable instead of enhancing their fears and apprehensions.

- Light banter, jokes, teasing, innocent but foolish acts etc are fair enough but avoid physical violence at any level (in any degree) whatsoever.

- Similarly do not force the youngsters to do things that have clear cut sexual overtones. Enjoyment is a must but it must be utterly devoid of vulgarity.

- Treat the youngsters with kindness car and sympathy, so that they are encouraged to look up to you, instead of hating you or avoiding you throughout the academic session.

Remember!! The Central Government has said, "We intend to abolish the practice of ragging and/or harassment from all Colleges and Institutions, in an effort to clean up the social stigma that it causes. In no other country's education institutions ragging takes place except in India. We intend to introduce stricter laws against ragging. Our objective is to make the campus areas free from any social injustice, mental, physical and/or sexual harassment that thousands of students face each year during their first few months in college. The enactment of the 'Prevention of Ragging in Colleges and Institutions Bill, 2005' would see the decline and finally abolition of ragging on campus areas."

A happy College Life to all students!!!

[ThaiIndian] With squads, cameras Delhi University gears up to stop ragging

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July 14th, 2008 - 7:10 pm ICT by IANS -

New Delhi, July 14 (IANS) The college corridors and canteens, classrooms are abuzz with breathless chatter of freshers. On the grounds, throngs of newcomers are moving about with nervous excitement. The new session of Delhi University is beginning Wednesday, and the fear of being ragged is in the air. But student volunteers constituting the anti-ragging squad of Delhi University are all set to do the rounds of colleges and catch anyone ragging newcomers.

After the Supreme Court directive calling for institutions and principals to take stern action to ban ragging, the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) set up an anti-ragging squad last year, which with the help of Delhi Police, monitors college campuses at the beginning of the new academic session to prevent the dreadful ragging incidents.

For most students, the thrill of starting college is overcome by the fear of getting ragged by seniors. And though it has been banned, there have been stray cases of ragging on the campus and in college hostels.

Amrita Bahari, president of DUSU, said the union has taken all steps to ensure that the new students don’t start their college life on a harrowing note.

“We are very serious about the issue of ragging and have sent out strong messages in the form of campaigns and posters in college campuses, asking students not to rag anyone,” Bahari said.

“Our anti-ragging squad, which constitutes 16 students for the north campus and 10 for the south campus, is all set to do the rounds from the beginning of the new academic session and hold up anyone caught ragging,” Bahari told IANS.

Most of the students in the squad are under-graduates, and there are some of the post-graduate level and from the Law Faculty, she said.

DUSU has also spoken to college principals and hostel wardens and put up posters in the colleges informing students about the Supreme Court directive.

Plans are afoot to also launch a helpline for new students so that they can get help if ragged and get counselling.

More than 20 colleges under DU will install CCTV cameras in the vicinity of their colleges in order to check ragging and eve-teasing. The cameras will be installed in a month’s time.

Delhi University Proctor Gurmeet Singh said earlier: “This year, more than 20 colleges will install CCTV cameras to monitor and check activities such as ragging and eve-teasing. The presence of the CCTV cameras is not going to be publicised as we want to take the offenders by surprise”.

Bahari added: “The CCTV cameras will be a big boon since they will help nab culprits. They will be installed in less than a month’s time.”