‘Initiation rituals’ or ragging among the students by seniors had their reign a few years back, but cases of severe ragging are rarely heard now. However, in a recent incident, a second-year student at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital(JMCH) was allegedly assaulted very severely by his seniors.
Speaking to the Northeastern Chronicle, a family friend of the victim spoke about the incident. She said that the student was on his way to the bathroom at around 10:30 PM when two seniors caught him. There were more, but he noticed only two of them since they broke his glass. Furthermore, his t-shirt was torn and thrown in the dustbin. He was then taken to their hostel room, where they hit his head with an iron road and beat him up.
She further mentions that they were probably drunk. On further speculation, it was discovered that the seniors took him to be a different guy. The injured student was taken to the hospital. He has suffered injuries to his head and ears. Fortunately, after a CT scan, no severe impact was found. The victim’s parents reached Jorhat today morning and are in conversation with the principal of the institution.
Ragging is a criminal offense that is handled by the University Grants Commission’s Anti-Ragging Code (UGC). Sec. 116 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983, makes it illegal (Karnataka Act No. 1 of 1995).
