Ragged by seniors, student jumps in front of train

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-12/mumbai/39202910_1_suicide-note-two-students-government-railway-police

 MUMBAI: A second-year student of a Navi Mumbai college killed himself on Friday by jumping in front of a local train, allegedly because he was being ragged by two of his fellow students for the past several months. The victim, 19-year-old Nitin Balu Padalkar, left a suicide note in which he named the two students for harassing him.

 The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Kalyan said they will question the two students named in the suicide note on Monday when the college reopens. A case of unnatural death under Section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code has been registered though they said preliminary inquiries suggest it was a case of ragging. Nitin was a second-year student of electronics and telecommunications in the Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology, which is affiliated to the University of Mumbai and is part of the D Y Patil Group.

College officials could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. The state government and the university have called for reports on the incident. Nitin, who killed himself a day after his second-year final exams began, lived with his father Balu, who works as a labourer, mother Kamal and younger sister Nisha in the Kolsewadi area of Kalyan (East).

 Ragging is a crime under the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1999, and institutes are supposed to have strict mechanisms to stop it. "The government will check if a mechanism to halt ragging as suggested by the Centre and the Raghavan committee was in place in the institution," said a bureaucrat in the higher and technical education department. Nitin was found on the tracks by motormen at 8.10pm on Friday, who alerted the Vithalwadi stationmaster.

The GRP officials were rushed to the spot and the victim was taken to Rukminibai Hospital in Kalyan, but doctors declared him dead on arrival. The victim's family corroborated the details in the suicide note saying Nitin had been depressed because of the harassment meted out to him by the students mentioned in the note. "As my brother was good in studies, two of his classmates had been ragging him since October. They harassed him over petty issues," Nitin's younger sister Nisha told TOI.

 She added, "Over the past four days, my brother had been very depressed about the continuous harassment and could not concentrate on his studies. Seeing my brother upset, even my mother wanted to complain about the harassment to college authorities, but Nitin told her not to do so because the two students would then tease him for being the boy who brought his mother to complain."

 On Friday, Nitin had left the house around 6pm telling his parents that he was going to meet a friend in the Chinchpada area, but he never returned. The family received a call from police at 8.50pm informing them of Nitin's death. S G Nirmal, Kalyan GRP police inspector said, "Preliminary investigations show it is ragging, as Nitin was depressed over the harassment by two fellow students. On the basis of the suicide note, we will question both the students once college starts on Monday. If needed, we will invoke the anti-ragging Act."

BHU student alleges communal abuses and insults

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bhu-student-alleges-communal-abuses-and-insults/article4750802.ece

 Why don’t you go to Aligarh? What are you doing here? Such questions are posed almost every day, he says A student of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) has alleged that university officials are pressing him to withdraw a complaint he recently lodged with the University Grants Commission over his “ragging” by a junior.

 Twenty-two-year-old Mahtab (name changed), third-year student of Linguistics (Honours), said he was subjected to “communal abuses and insults” by a second-year student at his hostel on May 10, and after he registered a complaint, he was being threatened and abused by the student and his friends.

 Mahtab initially complained to the hostel warden but found his response “unsatisfactory.” He then called up the UGC anti-ragging cell, which promptly registered his complaint and forwarded it to the BHU anti-ragging cell. The student alleged that authorities were pressuring him to withdraw the complaint and subjected him to “...counter-questioning.” “They asked me why I didn’t complain to the minority cell and [told me] that I shouldn’t have complained to the UGC as it has brought the university into disrepute,” Mahtab said.

His questioning was videographed. He also alleged that anti-ragging cell officials were pressing him to ignore the incident and learn to “compromise.” “Such things happen and I should ignore them and not let them hamper my career, the anti-ragging cell officials told me.

One official even told me that I would have to bow if I cared for my result.” The student said he was subjected to abuses and insults in the common room of a hostel on May 10, after which he was being regularly threatened and intimidated by students affiliated to right-wing groups. However, he claims this was not one-off. “Why don’t you [Muslims] go to Aligarh? What are you doing here?

We are asked such things almost every day. I will not withdraw my complaint,” he said. Meanwhile, the second-year student has filed a counter-complaint of physical and mental harassment against Mahtab. Anti-ragging cell head S.K. Srivastava denied the allegation that the university was trying to close the matter. “An enquiry is on, and a report will be submitted to the Vice-Chancellor in a stipulated time.

There’s no way the university has closed it off. But the counter-complaint… has made the case complex.”

Student alleges ragging at government college

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-22/noida/39444157_1_student-union-leader-college-campus-college-officials

 NOIDA: A first year BA student of the government degree college in Noida was allegedly ragged by his seniors accusing them of forcefully pulling down his pants right outside the principal's office.

The student, Ramesh Yadav, claimed that he was assaulted while he was in queue outside the principal's office to collect a laptop made available under a UP government scheme. When another student tried to help Ramesh, the accused allegedly assaulted him too. "I went to the principal's office at 10am. I was standing in line when a BA third year student, Pintu Yadav, made a derogatory remark.

When I opposed, he forcefully pulled my pants down. After seeing this, another senior Om Prakash Yadav, a M.Com final year student, came to the rescue. Pintu left the spot and returned with his friends and attacked us outside the campus when we were returning home," said Ramesh. An FIR has been filed by Om Prakash at Sector 39 police station alleging that Pintu, along with his friends Bobby Yadav, Ajay Yadav and Anil Yadav, assaulted him.

The FIR also states that in the assault Om Prakash was injured and received bruises on his shoulder and back. College officials, however, denied that any such incident took place within the college campus. "It's not a matter of ragging. A fight broke out between two groups outside the college premises.

After the fight, a student informed us and we immediately reported the incident to the police," said MC Jain, chief proctor. Other officials claimed that the clash was between two different student union groups. "Pintu is a student union leader and his group had a clash with another for attempting to take claim among the students for distribution of laptops," said an official.

Parents allege foul play in son’s death

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/parents-allege-foul-play-in-sons-death/article4589154.ece

 Say his roommates were jealous of his talent and hard work

 The death of a student of Sarada Institute of Science, Technology and Management has turned into a major controversy with the parents alleging that he was a victim of ragging.

 The parents expressed anguish over the alleged casual approach of the college management and police authorities. The latter however, claimed that the student, Baka Prasanth Kumar, had committed ‘suicide’ as he had failed in the exams. Harikrishna and Sakuntala -- hailing from Jagatakeshavapuram of Sompeta mandal -- told the media here on Saturday that their son had scored high marks in the first year so there was no need for him to commit suicide.

They held three roommates of their son responsible for his death on February 24. Mr. Harikrishna said neither the college management nor the police had showed photos of their son to substantiate their claim that he had committed suicide by hanging. “My son used to face many problems with roommates who were jealous of his talent and hard work.

They might have killed him as one of his roommates failed in the examinations,” he said. “We approached Superintendent of Police K.V.V. Gopala Rao and sought a thorough inquiry into the incident. We also sought action against Sub-Inspector Narimani who supported the college management without hearing our version,” he added. Bharat Swambhiman Trust-Srikakulam president Swami Srinivasananda, AP BC Welfare Association leader P. Chandramouli, VHP leader Ch. Suryachandrasekhara Rao and YSR Congress leaders G. Narsunaidu and Y. Dhanunjay demanded that the case be reopened and justice rendered to the student’s family.

Ragging death case: 7 Malayalis held

http://newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/article1533110.ece

 The police have arrested seven Malayali students in connection with the death of P Deepak, 20, a Malayali student pursuing engineering at a self-financing college near Rasipuram in Namakkal district on Thursday evening.

 Superintendent of Police P Kannammal said that seven students, whose chase led to the killing of Deepak, were held and were slapped with murder charges.

 They are M Ashwanth, 20 (Balussery, Kozhikode), Davis K Cherian, 21 (Mallapally, Pathanamthitta), J Sebin John, 20 ( Manimalayil, Kannur), J Danis Johns, 21 (Srikantapuram, Kannur), A Sarath, 20, (Chennankalangode, Malappuram), J Lijo Joseph, 21, (Thamarassery, Kozhikode) and T Mithun Thomas, 20 (Perumpallimandalam, Malappuram).

 Except Mithun Thomas who was a second year student, all the others were third year engineering students. “P Deepak, 20, and his friend J Dinesh, 19, both second year students of a self-financing engineering college located near Andagalur Gate, Rasipuram, were moving in a bike after the college hours and were chased by a gang of seven fellow students in a car.

 One of the occupants of the car hit Deepak with an iron rode, following which he fell down and hit boulders lying on the side of the road. Deepak died on the spot while Dinesh suffered serious injuries,” P Kannammal said. Initially, the police assumed that it could be a hit-and-run incident but the truth came out only when one of the college staff who passed by the scene noticed a car fleeing.

 He passed the information to the college authorities and subsequently to the cops, leading to the car being intercepted at the toll plaza at Omalur, Salem. Rasipuram SP S T Rajan said that seven students were held and slapped with murder charges.

 They were staying at rented houses in Salem and commuting to the college by car. Preliminary investigations revealed that a petty quarrel at the college while collecting water from a cooler led to the killing of the student. “Deepak and Dinesh had forced their way to the cooler to collect water without minding their seniors. A scuffle had broken out and the seven students had warned them of dire consequences,” the SP said.

Ragging case at Indore engineering college

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-05/indore/38305498_1_anti-ragging-committee-five-students-student-leader

 INDORE: An alleged case of ragging came to light on Friday at K C Bansal Institute of Technology where senior students beat up a junior severely on head with wooden block which had nails on it. Shubham Astre, a first year student of the institute was the victim.

 The incident had happened on April 1 when a few students were waiting for bus inside college campus. According to the sources, nearly 20 seniors cornered the five juniors and asked them to obey their direction to which they refused.

 Five students including Astre were beaten up by seniors including Ayush Sharma, Ram Yadav, Ankur Tiwari, Rajendra, Sujit, Vicky and 15 others. On Friday, parents of Astre had approached the Kishanganj police station but no FIR was registered. College authorities coaxed both the parties and no case was registered.

 Varsha Sharma, a student leader said, "Institute did not register statements in anti-ragging committee and even disciplinary committee. It is rather trying to sweep the matter under the carpet. On the other hand, the institute vowed to take action in a couple of days. Suresh Jain, director of the institute said, "We will take statements of the students and parents and make a report. Report will be tabled on coming Monday and strict action will be taken."

Three held for ragging female student at religious college

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/three-held-for-ragging-female-student-at-religious-college-113032400319_1.html

 A student, pursuing a degree course at a religious college at Shamshabad here, has accused three male students of ragging and teasing her on the campus.

 Following the complaint, Shamshabad Police today arrested Abhishek, E John and Andrews for allegedly ragging and teasing the girl, police said today.

 The victim, pursuing Bachelor of Divinity course at the college, lodged the complaint with police yesterday claiming that the accused not only ragged her on the premises, but also teased her and passed "vulgar comments".

 She also claimed that the college management did not take any action despite the matter was brought to their notice. Police yesterday booked the trio, along with the Principal and Registrar of the college, under relevant sections of IPC. A police officer said that action will soon be taken against the college authorities.