UGC forms five-member panel to probe Dharamshala college student’s death

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission has formed a five member probe panel to look into the tragic death of a student in a college in Dharamshala who had alleged ragging against three students as well as sexual harassment against a professor. The UGC said that the fact-finding committee, headed by Professor Raj Kumar Mittal of the Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, will examine the circumstances surrounding the incident as well as the conduct of the college authorities.

The 19-year-old student of the Government Degree College in Dharamshala breathed her last in a hospital after she alleged that she was ragged and assaulted by three female students in addition to the sexual harassment she faced in the hands of a professor. A video of the student making allegations against the professor in the hospital, visibly sick, before she passed away has been making the round of social media.

The UGC, in a statement said that, it has taken “serious cognisance” of the matter. “The UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline registered a suo-motu complaint based on media reports alleging ragging leading to suicide, while the college authorities have stated that the case is a death and not a suicide. A police enquiry is underway, and UGC has already constituted a Fact-Finding Committee to examine the incident. UGC assures that culprits will not be spared and that stringent action will follow. Student safety is paramount,” it said.

The other members of the probe panel are former UGC member Professor Sushma Yadav, Gujarat University VC Dr Neerja Gupta, and Pondicherry University VC professor P Prakash Babu. UGC Joint Secretary Dr Sunita Siwach will be the coordinating member of the panel.