[HT] Ragging forces 62 students to flee

Link to report

Ashok Das, Hindustan Times
Hyderabad, July 16, 2008
First Published: 02:43 IST(16/7/2008)

Ragging may be officially banned in Andhra Pradesh, but that has not stopped students from resorting to despicable crimes on their juniors in the name of ragging.

Official sources said that 62 students of a residential school run by the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Education Society, a government body, ran away from the institution on Sunday unable to bear the “ragging” by seniors. The victims are students of class IX and were being “tortured” by seniors belonging to Classes XI and XII.

Apparently, the juniors brought the issue to the notice of school authorities, but nothing happened. Finally, unable to face the humiliation, the students chose to leave the institution.

“They (seniors) used to call us to the terrace and ask us to do unspeakable things. They would also force us to wash their utensils and their clothes. Above all, they would eat up all the food and leave little or nothing for us,” said one of the students, refusing to reveal his name.

The residential school is meant for students belonging to the weaker sections of society and the government takes care of their boarding, lodging and educational expenses. The initiative is part of a chain of hundreds of residential schools run by the government for poor students.

The school authorities said that they were trying to contact the victims and persuade them to come back. “We will make sure that they are not harassed by anyone in the future,” said a school official.

Local police said they had not registered a case as neither the principal of the school nor the victims had lodged a complaint.