[ToI] Engg student kills self, family blames ragging

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17 Oct 2007, 0106 hrs IST,Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui,TNN

LUCKNOW: A first-year student of a polytechnic in Pratapgarh died of alleged poisoning early Tuesday, a few days after he told his parents about a ragging ordeal he faced at the hands of senior students. The family of Amit Tiwari, 22, who was studying mechanical engineering at the Government Polytechnic, filed a complaint with the police saying he had been killed by his seniors for going to the authorities against ragging.

Police said Amit was admitted to the civil hospital in Pratapgarh on Monday evening after he complained of vomiting and stomach pain. He was then taken to the Swaroop Rani hospital in Allahabad when his condition deteriorated, but died before being admitted there at around 2 am.

Amit's brother Arun told TOI that during his visit to his family in Unnao on October 10, Amit told him that he was being ragged by his seniors. "He said the juniors were made to strip in front of others and were beaten up when they resisted," Arun said. Polytechnic officials, however, denied that the death was linked to ragging.

[ToI] 'Ragging' for a cause

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15 Oct 2007, 0000 hrs IST,Pragya Kaushika,TNN

While St Stephen's College, Delhi University (DU), struggles with its on-campus ragging fracas, a group of students from the Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), DU, have come up with a way to interact with freshers in a healthy manner. Their version of ragging is a `silent’ (mock) auction that they organise every year, wherein freshers are invited to bid.

On offer at the auction is a range of social meetings with seniors, including coffee dates, counselling sessions and even bike lessons for the fresh batch. The money collected at the auction is used for social causes.

"The bike lessons on offer had many takers, especially from girls," says Raman Dhaliwal, second year student at FMS. Adds Ashish Agarwal, president, Vihaan, FMS' social cell, "Customised homemade food for a week at only Rs 500 was a steal, as was the unlimited chocolate cake and ice-cream treat for Rs 270. It was exciting to have 200 freshers trying to outbid each other."

The event is also a novel way of contributing to society. Informs Neha Bhujang, second year student at FMS, "The fact that we collected around Rs 21,000 during the three-hour event shows how successful the idea is. This year, the highest bid was made for 'Financial Accounting Sessions' conducted by a senior."

The event also helps students to get interested in corporate social responsibility that is gaining popularity among employers. Adds Abhishek, a third year student at FMS, "This year too, Vihaan, our social cell, has decided that the money will be utilised for girl child education, as illiteracy especially of women is a roadblock to our growth."

[ET] With apologies to Bob Dylan ...

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14 Oct, 2007, 0205 hrs IST,Mythili Bhusnurmath, TNN

Last Thursday, 11 October, was ‘No raging day’. Two years ago this day Amit Sahai, a bright student with a promising future who’d joined the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, committed suicide by jumping in front of a running train. He could no longer handle the severe physical and sexual abuse he’d been receiving at the hands of his seniors. Amit could not be saved. But there are countless other Amits whose lives need not be cut short! Or like ....of Apeejay Institute of Architecture and Planning, Noida go through life traumatized by the experience of their first few days in college! But as far as the general public in India is concerned the Amits and .. are just statistics, unfortunate freshers who fell victim to high jinks gone wrong.

Consequently ‘No Ragging Day’ came and went. Unheralded! There were no powerful advertisements of the kind commonly seen on World Literacy Day, World Heart Day, World Standards Day and so on. How many people knew about ‘No Ragging Day’? Or cared? Apart, of course, from the few hundred families who over the years have lost their sons/daughters or seen the future of their children blighted by the actions of some anti-social, nay criminal, youngsters?
And that is the tragedy. Despite the efforts of non-government agencies like the Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), the Supreme Court’s strictures to colleges following the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee, ragging continues to claim young lives/destroy bright futures.

Sadly such incidents are not limited to institutions of dubious repute but afflict prestigious institutes like IITs, NITs and most recently to the capital’s elitist, St Stephen’s College as well. The problem is the authorities, far from acknowledging the existence of the malaise, and taking stern action, are reluctant to admit the incidents as ‘ragging’ for fear it will sully their reputation (as indeed it should).

In the St Stephen’s case, for instance, the authorities insisted on calling it a ‘prank’. A prank? When a first year student receives burn injuries on his knees and hands? This despite the fact that under the Apex Court’s ruling earlier this year ‘ragging’ is now a cognisable office, requiring the college authorities to lodge an FIR. Instead the perpetrators of the crime got away with suspensions and that too for fairly minor periods. Why? Is it because they have powerful parents?

The Human Resources Minister, Arjun Singh, described higher education in this country as ‘sick’; nowhere is this sickness more manifest than in the abuse, both physical and verbal, meted out to freshers in the name of ragging. Yes, ragging is the symptom of a deeper malaise in society. Students under pressure seek an outlet for their anger and frustration, which is why such incidents are more in professional colleges where the pressure to perform is greater. And as pressures of everyday life increase, anger and frustration levels are bound to increase as seen from the increasingly common incidents of road rage and other violence. People seem ready to resort to violence at the drop of a hat.

Is it any wonder then that from May 21 to September 21, more than 50 cases of ragging, including physical, sexual and verbal abuse were reported in the national English media? In contrast to only 15 incidents were reported in the same period last year, according to CURE. And mind you, ragging is like rape. What gets reported is only the tip of the iceberg.

But it is not as though it cannot be tackled. Simple things like putting all freshers in one hostel, routinely done in RV College of Engineering, Bangalore and IIT Mumbai can do much to reduce such incidents. Staggered entry of fresher and seniors is another simple measure that could help since it gives freshers time to find their feet and make friends among their peer group, thus ensuring some collective strength. Migration/degree certificates could have a provision for incorporating remarks wherein mention can be made regarding the student’s involvement in ragging.

Alternatively, punitive action of the kind suggested by the Raghavan committee of holding back UGC assistance, withdrawing AICTE, MCI, DCI recognition could help. While creating awareness is important, it must be backed by strong deterrent action. The argument of the St Stephens’' authorities that the victim was satisfied with the punishment is no defence. Law must be allowed to take its course.

[DeccanHerald] TN medical college suspends three for ragging junior

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Tiruchirapalli, UNI :

Dr K A P Viswanathan Government Medical College has suspended three third year MBBS students for allegedly ragging a junior student of the college a couple of days back.

Official sources said, based on a complaint from the affected student's father, who is working as a Professor in a private college here, the college administration conducted an enquiry over the incident and cornered three third year MBBS students residing in the college hostel for their involvment in the crime. The students admitted the crime.

Following this, the administration sent a detailed report to the Director of Medical Education (DME) Chennai and based on the direction from the DME, the students were suspended, the sources added. They, however, refused to divulge the names of the suspended students.

[IE] College suspends students in Greater Noida ragging case

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Greater Noida, October 12 The six students alleged to have stripped and burnt a first year student at the Apeejay Institute of Architecture and Planning were today suspended from the college. The students — Aditya, Aakash, Farhan, Naman, Prashant and Subur — had allegedly sprayed deodorant and burnt the private parts of Prashant Kumar Agrahi on October 4 in the college hostel.

B R Zaidi, Station House Officer of the Kasna Police Station said, “The boys are absconding and have left the college hostel. We have formed teams to trace them and they will be arrested soon.” The victim said he was earlier also beaten up, stripped, made to dance and later hung from the balcony of one of the higher floors. The decision to suspend was taken after the boy’s father Dhruv Prasad Agrahi approached the police on Thursday, police said.

Agrahi had approached a local television channel and got a complaint registered with the Kasna Police Station, where a case of rioting, criminal intimidation, willfully causing injury and illegal confinement was registered against the accused.

D Rajvanshi, chief of the anti-ragging cell, said, “Keeping in mind the serious nature of the crime, we decided to take such an action. It will also act as a deterrent for other students of the college.” Dhruv Prasad said, “It is important that no student is subjected to serious physical and mental torture in the name of ragging.”

The victim, who is in a state of shock, said, “I was too scared to approach the college authorities. They had threatened me with dire consequences.” He told the authorities and his father about the incident on Monday.

[Yahoo] Keep Chhattisgarh ragging free: Raman Singh

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By IANS
Thursday October 11, 02:21 PM

Raipur, Oct 11 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh Thursday told the higher education and technical education departments to ensure that no new student is mentally or physically harassed by seniors.

'The chief minister is highly concerned about ragging and wants to make sure that Chhattisgarh does not have any ragging cases,' an official said.

Officials have been told to be in constant touch with college managements and technical institutions to find out if any fresher is being harassed.

The officials have been directed not to hush up any ragging case, even a minor one. The guilty students would be sacked from the institution.

[Yahoo] Apeejay architecture student complains of ragging, torture

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By HT
Friday October 12, 01:37 AM

A first year student of Apeejay School of Architecture has lodged a complaint against six seniors, alleging ragging and physical torture.

Prashant Kumar Agrahari's father Dhruv Prasad told the Hindustan Times, "My son was so terrified after the incident that he told us that he would commit suicide and will not go to college. He was getting threats from senior students who had physically tortured him. I had complained to college management on October 8. But no action was taken. On Thursday afternoon, when I called them, they said the Director was out of station and that he would take action on his return."

"Someone has to come forward against the menace of ragging. I decided to fight the menace and took my son to the police station and lodged a complaint," he said. "Though four students were physically tortured by the seniors, no one had the courage to speak up against seniors. Maybe now they too would come forward and raise their voice," said Prasad.