Seven students of a government college in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala were suspended on Tuesday for ragging a first-year student by brutally assaulting him.
This is the third incident of assault in the name of ragging at an educational institute in the state in recent weeks.
The latest instance was reported at the Government College Kariavattom in the state capital on February 11 based on the complaint of a first-year student who alleged that he was tortured by senior students inside the unit room of the SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M), the lead of the LDF alliance currently in power in the state.
Bins Jose, a first-year biotechnology student who was the victim of ragging, said he was tied up and assaulted inside the room by SFI members.
“My friend Abhishek and I were walking through the campus when the senior students stopped us. While my friend managed to run away, the seniors dragged me to the SFI unit room. There, they removed my belt and hit me in the face. They made me kneel down and used a bamboo pole to hit my head,” he said.
“When I asked for water to drink, at first they refused. Then Velu, one of the seniors, took some water and spat into it and gave it to me to drink. When I refused, they threatened to smash my head into pieces. They also threatened to attack me if I spoke about the ragging to anyone outside,” the first-year student added.
SFI leaders were unavailable for comment.
With respect to the Kariavattom incident, a police officer at the Kazhakootam police station said they registered an FIR on February 11 itself for rioting, wrongful confinement in what they then assumed to be a clash between two groups of students inside the college. It is not clear why the police assumed this.
“Today, the principal has given us a report stating that there was an incident of ragging following a preliminary inquiry. We will either file a fresh FIR or alter the existing FIR under provisions of the Prohibition of Ragging Act, 2011,” the officer said.
Based on the complaint of the first-year student, seven senior students have been booked, the officer added.
In the first instance, three third-year students and two second-year students of a nursing college in Kottayam were arrested for brutally ragging six first-year students. Opposition parties have alleged that some of the five were SFI members.
In the second case, five Class 12 students were booked for assaulting a junior at a school in Kannur.
Earlier, in January, a 15-year-old boy, a student of Class 9 died by suicide after facing relentless bullying and ragging in school.
Last year, JS Sidharthan, a second-year veterinary science student was found dead in the hostel washroom of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Wayanad. Following an investigation, 18 students, again members of SFI, were arrested but subsequently released on bail. Tuesday marked the first death anniversary of the 20-year-old student.
Meanwhile, Kerala’s higher education minister R Bindu told reporters on Tuesday that a mechanism to prevent incidents of ragging would be instituted in the state.
“It is extremely unfortunate that repeated incidents of ragging are being reported in the state. Serious action needs to be taken. We have routinely instructed colleges under the higher education department to actively run anti-ragging cells,” she told reporters.
The Youth Congress and the Kerala Students Union (KSU) held marches in the state capital demanding action against the accused in the ragging case.
BJP state chief K Surendran blamed the SFI for the ragging episode in Kariavattom and called for efforts to isolate such outfits.
“The police action in these cases is very slow. The government is indirectly abetting the accused to assault students. SFI leaders must be seen as anti-social elements and isolated,” he said.