9 students arrested for ragging in Mangaluru college

The incident came to light when Abhiraj, the student who was ragged, refused to attend college

Nine students involved in the ragging of a first-year student at the Srinivas College of Pharmacy in Valachil were arrested by the police on Friday.

Third-year B Pharma students Jishnu (20), Shrikantha P V (20), Ashwanth (20), Sayanth (22), Abhirath Rajiv (21), second-year B Pharma students Rahul P (21), Jishnu (20), Mukthar Ali (19) and Mohammed Razeem K (20) who allegedly ragged first-year B Pharma student Abhiraj had been arrested, said Mangaluru Commissioner of Police N Shashi Kumar.

The ragging incident came to light when Abhiraj refused to attend college. The commissioner said Abhiraj's parents had contacted the DCP and informed him that their son was refusing to attend classes. The parents had appealed to the DCP to help them in getting back Rs 2 lakh paid as fees to the college.

During the course of the investigation, the police discovered that Abhiraj was refusing to attend classes as he had been ragged by seniors for the last few days. The ragging had begun 10 days ago when Abhiraj was returning to the hostel after his classes. The senior students who accosted him had demanded that he shave off his moustache and trim his hair. One of the students had even slapped him.

On January 12, the same students had allegedly taken him to task for not cutting his hair and shaving the moustache. The seniors threatened to cut his hair and one of the students had hit him again. Police filed a case of ragging against nine students at the Mangaluru Rural police station.

The arrested have been booked under the Karnataka Education Act and other IPC Sections. During the course of the investigation, police were informed that the nine accused students had ragged four more junior students. The commissioner warned of initiating strict action against those found indulging in such activities.

The commissioner said colleges should ensure the safety of students. Through anti-ragging committees, students should be counseled in colleges. "It is high time educational institutions ensure that the menace of ragging is curbed or else strict action will be taken by the police," he warned.