[ToI] Student ragged, stripped in Bhopal hostel

8 Oct 2007, 0235 hrs IST,TNN


BHOPAL: A shocking incident of ragging, coupled with an attempt at sexual assault, has been reported to the Madhya Pradesh police just two days after two first-year girl students of the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhopal were hospitalised following an alleged ragging session.

Engineering student Vishal Sharma has charged that his seniors beat him up, tonsured his head and shaved off his moustache on Friday night. They also apparently forced him to consume liquor with them, and made him dance for hours after stripping him - shockingly, they also tried to sexually assault him, according to the case filed.

Police registered a case of physical assault and hurt against the two senior who were involved in the act after the boy's father filed a complaint. One of the accused, Neeraj Kumar, was arrested on Sunday evening. Director of the institute Naeem Khan said eight senior students have been suspended.

The victim, a 19-year-old freshman of BE (Information Technology) at the Sree Institute of Science and Technology, is from Shivpuri district. He is the son of Congress leader in Gwalior-Chambal division Mahendra Sharma. Vishal, whose first semester started just 25 days ago, was staying at the reputed Utkarsh Students' Hostel in Lal Ghati area.

The hostel accommodates around 100 boys - 60 freshmen of the same engineering college, 20 seniors and 20 from other engineering colleges in Bhopal.

"From the beginning, they used to abuse and beat me up for no reason. When I told my father, he said it wouldn't last long. They would drink and force freshers to join them. But on Friday night, their torture crossed all limits," Vishal said.

Vishal said it was not just him but many other freshers too who were subjected to similar treatment. However, some students don't protest because their parents had spent a lot of money for their admission and they could not back out because of the ragging, he said.

Vishal added that two of his seniors - Kunal Chaudhary and Neeraj Kumar - had called him to their room on Saturday morning around 1 am. Traumatised Vishal now doesn’t want to go back to the same college and says he will not stay in a hostel again.

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[ToI] Delhi girl in hospital after ragging

6 Oct 2007, 0452 hrs IST,TNN

BHOPAL: Despite a Supreme Court order against ragging in educational institutions, incidents of harassment of students continue. A Delhi girl, along with a batchmate from Agra, has been admitted to hospital after she collapsed during a ragging session at an institute here on Wednesday night. Just a few days ago a first-year student at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College sustained burn injuries on his hands and knees, and a fresher suffered multiple fractures after he was pushed from the first floor of his engineering college hostel in Agra. MP police have registered a case against eight senior girl students of the Institute of Hotel Management in Bhopal after the two freshers collapsed. The two students have been admitted to a private hospital. However, as with the colleges in Delhi and Agra, institute authorities here have gone into denial mode, terming it an altercation over a fashion show

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[MyIndia] Students in Indore protest

Students in Indore protest
Thursday, September 20, 2007 MP

Indore, Sept 19 (ANI): Students clashed with police in Indore on Wednesday, as they staged a protest against a ragging-driven suicide by a college student a day before.Hundreds of students, mobilised by unions, gathered outside the Pioneer Institute of Professional Studies, whose student Durgesh Shukla hanged himself on Tuesday.A suicide note found on the crime scene indicated Shukla felt demoralised after a session of what was supposed to be harmless ragging by his seniors.The protestors tried to force their way into the college premises, where a sizeable police force was stationed to prevent any untoward incident. The police held the protestors back.The protestors accused the college authorities of laxity in preventing abusive ragging."The university administration should have taken steps to prevent students from getting caught in the ragging menace. But no one paid attention to suggestions we made long back, and a student today had to pay the price with his life. We have full sympathy with the deceased, and continue to struggle till justice is done in the case," said Gaurav, a student leader.Efforts to check such incidents on campus had been stepped up, said police."We have alerted colleges' anti-ragging committees, and are also trying to locate such incidents in the campus," said Manoj Srivastava, Additional Superintendent of Police, Indore.Police said investigation into the suicide case is on.Police have filed a case under Section 306, on the basis of suicide note found from the spot.

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[NewsTrack India] Ragging spoils one more future

Sep 20: What an irony that one student has not yet recovered from the trauma of ragging that we hear another student ending his life due to the erosion of self-confidence consequent of ragging by seniors.

A private college student committed suicide after he could not tolerate the alleged inhuman ragging by the seniors told the police. Durgesh Shukla, MCA first year student in the Pioneer College left a suicide note which said that he was not happy with the ragging incident of his seniors and lost confidence before ending his life.

Shukla, a resident of Khandwa was found hanging with a ceiling fan in the rented house in Chanakya Complex near Malwa Mill. The incident sent shock waves throughout the city.

Police has registered a case against unidentified students for compelling him to take such extreme measures. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the suicide by the student.

As the incident reached the ears of students they got agitated. ABVP students demonstrated before the Pioneer College and also forced the other colleges private as well as government to be closed as a protest against the shocking incident. They demanded the authority of the college to take serious action against who are found guilty. ABVP also blamed the college authority that they are trying to defend the culprits and not taking action.

While on the other hand college authority has denied any incident of ragging and also claimed that the college has an anti-ragging committee. Investigation is pending but the whole incident raises the question why does law fail to deter the criminals? In spite of Supreme Court ruling and defining “ragging’ a disorderly conduct how students dare taking law in their hands?

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[NDTV.com] Student hospitalised after brutal ragging

Sanket Upadhyay
Monday, September 17, 2007 (New Delhi)

Fun for some has turned into a tragedy for Sanjay Pal Singh.

Ragging by a few seniors proved too much for this 22-year-old student of MCA at a private management institute in Lucknow.

He has been hospitalised with psychotic disorder and his condition is said to be serious but stable.

''We cannot even explain our state now. You all know what the story actually is,'' said Ajay Pal Singh, Sanjay's relative.

Since Sanjay's college located on the outskirts of Lucknow has no hostel facility, he used to stay at a private hostel along with some students of Lucknow University.

It's believed they tortured and harassed Sanjay to the extent that he lost his mental balance. He turned violent without reason and broke window panes, after which he was brought to the hospital.

It took a dose of sedatives and 10 people to overpower him.

Police investigations are on in the case.

''Two students have been arrested in this connection. Their involvement is being investigated. An FIR has also been filed. We will know the rest only after further investigations,'' said Akhil Kumar, SSP, Lucknow.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had made ragging in any form a punishable offence. However, incidents like this one point to the fact that a lot more needs to be done to end this ugly practice.

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