17-yr-old ragged at CU: not a serious issue, say authorities

Kolkata, August 13 Even though anti-ragging campaigns are on, instances of ragging are being reported in most of the state universities. After Jadavpur University, it’s now the turn of the Calcutta University (CU).
A 17-year-old girl was allegedly harassed by her seniors on August 10. The incident occurred at V L Mitra Ladies Students Hall on 17, Radhanath Bose Road.
The girl, a student of first year Food and Nutrition honours at Calcutta Womens’ College, joined the hostel on July 14 as a guest boarder for a month.
The victim, a resident of East Midnapore, was expected to stay in the hostel for a month before suitable arrangement was made for her.
Her father, Sriti Kumar Giri, a trader from Contai in West Midnapore, had to withdraw his daughter a few days ago allegedly because of the treatment meted out to her by her seniors.
Giri wrote to the chancellor, vice-chancellor and registrar of the Calcutta University on August 12 levelling charges against the seniors who forced her to sing and dance, imitated her local dialect and fined her for skipping meals. She was allegedly made to sit for hours putting her fingers in her nose.
“I don’t know what mistake my daughter has made. I hope this treatment is not meted out to anyone else,” the letter read.
“She is in a state of shock and does not want to continue with her studies. We are trying to persuade her to resume her studies and arrange some other accommodation for her,” her father told The Indian Express.
“We are aware of the incident. This is not a serious incident and has already been resolved,” said university Registrar Basab Chowdhury.
The university will hold a detailed inquiry once an official complaint is received, he added.
The Additional Officer-in-Charge of Burtolla police station, A Guha, has also confirmed the incident.
Last month, a first-year student of architecture engineering was physically harassed by her seniors at the Jadavpur University.