[Times of India] Ragging case: Warden faces heat

NAGPUR: The hostel inmates have lodged strong protest with the vice-chancellor S N Pathan and registrar Subhash Belsare against newly-appointed warden A Undirwade and police for harassing in the allege ragging case. The hostel inmates, however, refuted the allegations of ragging of Gulab Bawanthade and said that it was "personal dispute between him and accused Usmankhan Pathan".

They said that though the dispute is between two students, the police are unnecessarily harassing other students by entering into their rooms without permission and repeatedly questioning them at odd hours. They also alleged that policemen used abusive language and even threatened them with dire consequences, which is not only affecting their studies, but also instilled a sense of fear among them. They also alleged that Dr Undirwade had forcibly took their identity cards by entering their rooms late in the night and even recorded them on camera. They claimed that due to these unusual developments many students have left the hostel.

They threatened that if their harassment from warden and police is not stopped immediately, the university authorities should cancel their registration from the hostel and return their money. The university officials were not available for their comments. The controversy over five-decade-old hostel at Law College Square started when Gulab accused Usmankhan of physical and mental torture inside his room and subsequently lodged a police complaint alleging ragging. Usmankhan was later arrested by the police and released on the bail on Wednesday.

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[CNN IBN] No arrests in 9-yr-old death by ragging case

New Delhi:
The silence of the house echoes across the blank walls C L Anto pores into the Criminal Referencer.

Consulting criminal files and making notes: this has been Anto's life for the past nine long years, since a management consultant was forced to turn into a lawyer, nine years since their only child, Indu, died due to ragging.

Indu was studying in Class 11 in Mumbai's prestigious Sophia College, where her hostel seniors repeatedly ragged her.

“There was nude dancing and all kinds of vulgarities- injections, drug taking, smoking and all kind of sexual perversions. Yes, she complained before and on her behalf I took up this matter with the authorities twice or thrice. That day I made a mistake. When I complained she was summoned in front of the principal and main accused Melissa and company threatened her. That day she called and said she was ready to leave the college,” said Anto.

That day was August 3, 1998. On August 4, Anto got a call that his daughter had fallen from the third floor of the hostel building and died.

The shock and trauma of losing young Indu destroyed the family. The fact that they lost her to a mindless act of cruelty in her dream college made it worse.

Indu was in Sophia College for just 14days but in just that fortnight she wrote of verbal and mental abuse everyday.

Sophia College had the powerful backing of the Church and soon the case was covered up and made to look like a suicide.

Indu's post mortem confirmed that she had 27 injuries before her death. Her diary mentions the names of two raggers: Melissa D'Silva and Greta Collaso, one a final year BSc student, the other in Class 12, recognized by the High Court as a dying declaration.

Yet, there were no arrests. All Anto managed was to prove in court that his girl was murdered.
“Society has made us orphans. Sophia College has made me the orphan,” said Anto.

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