[CNN-IBN] Maya out to tackle ragging, brings tough law

Link to report

New Delhi: The Mayawati Government in Uttar Pradesh approved a bill on Monday paving the way for a total ban on ragging in all educational institutions in the state.

The bill envisages expulsion, two years' prison terms and fines up to Rs 10,000 for offenders, UP Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said.

The draft Ragging in Educational Institutions Bill 2007 was approved in a Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati.

According to the Cabinet Secretary, the proposed law permits students expelled from institutions on ragging charges to appeal within 30 days before a commissioner, whose decision in the matter would be final.

The bill also provides that in case of written complaints by students, their parents or guardians and teachers, the head of the educational institution should probe the charges within a week.

The provision holds that the institution head should expel the offenders, if found guilty, within a week and file a complaint with the area police station.

The government initiated the mover following concerns over numerous incidents of ragging across the state in the past few months in places like Gorakhpur, Greater Noida and Gorakhpur.

Six students were expelled from Apeejay Institute of Technology in Greater Noida in October on ragging charges while an 18-year-old student of Madan Mohan Malviya Engineering College in Gorakhpur committed suicide in September this year after allegedly being tortured by his seniors.

(With agency reports)