Ragging in Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology in Navi Mumbai - victim jumps before train, dies

A 19-year-old engineering student allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a local train after being fed up of ragging by his college-mates for the past two months, police said on Sunday.

The victim, Nitin Padalkar, ended his life by jumping before a running train at Kalyan railway station in the neighbouring Thane district on Friday evening, they said.

He has allegedly named two of his college-mates for harassing him in a suicide note, police said.

Padalkar, a second-year student of electronics and telecommunications at the Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology in Navi Mumbai, was depressed for quite sometime, police sources said.

Nitin left his house in Kalyan at around 6 pm on Friday saying that he was going to meet his friends. Later, his family got the news of his death at around 8.50 pm from police.

Based on the preliminary enquiry and the circumstances of the death, it is suspected that "Padalkar was a victim of ragging", police sources said.

"We will question two of his college-mates tomorrow," sources at Government Railway Police, Kalyan said. source-thehindu.com

Brutal murder of a Malayali engineering college student in Namakkal by his college mates

The recent brutal murder of a Malayali engineering college student in Namakkal by his college mates sent shock waves across student communities. The incident was not an isolated one and all agree that there is indeed an alarming increase in violence among students from Kerala who go outside the state to pursue their studies.

However, students point out that ragging cannot be blamed for the recent spate of violence among students. "It is often the result of gang wars," says Rakesh R, who recently passed out of an engineering college in Coimbatore. "When you are in a college outside the state, a group becomes your identity. That's the only way you can survive," he says. Apparently, the problem starts when one of the gangs turns out to be a trouble maker. "One person is enough to change the identity of the entire gang; and invariably, they will dictate terms and lure others into all kinds of bad habits. Ragging juniors is just part of their agenda and they react violently to any real or imaginary insult or threat to the gang," says Rajesh. Some of the gangs seem to beHollywood inspired, with members sporting high-end bikes and similar attire. "The trigger for the recent incident might seem trivial but for the gang, it is a life and death issue," says Sanjay Viswanath, another engineering student in Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, most of these trouble-makers come from orthodox families. "Once they get a taste of freedom, they become unstoppable. In the absence of anyone to supervise them, they soon take to alcohol and drugs. Any college student would be aware of the punishment for ragging; you will be debarred from all professional colleges for five years, and even jailed. However, under the influence of alcohol and drugs they don't think about the repercussions," says Sanjay.

Students in Kerala point out that while ragging and violence have come down in the state owing to less politics and stringent laws, it only seems to go up in other states.

"There isn't much ragging or violence in any form in my college. But our friends in Tamil Nadu often narrate gruesome stories. They are harassed by seniors for money and made to run errands for them. Many of them hang on as they don't want to drop out. Only a small percentage of ragging and violence is actually reported," says Rohit Vinod, a law student.

And sadly, the ones who harass Malayali students are fellow Malayalis themselves. Psychiatrist Dr S D Singh points out, "An element of crime has crept into campus life. Criminal content in the society and television also had a major contribution towards this."

Most of the students are of the opinion that unless a system comes into place where students can report any incident without fear, violence on campuses will only escalate. source-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-04-18/people/38646373_1_college-mates-gang-wars-violence

Ragging in Bengal Engineering and Science University - six suspended

The Bengal Engineering and Science University on Friday suspended six third-year students after a group of juniors accused them of ragging. They have been asked to leave the campus and the hostel immediately.

Governor M K Narayanan - the chancellor - had visited the prestigious campus only on Thursday.

A complaint sent anonymously by some first-year students to the Besu professor in charge of student affairs said they were being asked to pay donations for an event organized by third-year seniors. By noon the complain reached Besu vice-chancellor A K Ray, who has set an example in the state by virtually eliminating ragging from the campus with his innovative ways of handling students. An inquiry started immediately and the faculty members found the complaints to be true. source-http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-23/kolkata/37960139_1_senior-students-besu-third-year-students

Raging in Gurgaon Engineering College - student in critical condition

 A first-year engineering student in Gurgaon, allegedly ragged by his seniors, was found in an unconscious state with multiple injury marks on his body outside his college on Tuesday. He has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and his condition is stated to be critical today. 

The victim had repeatedly complained about harassment by his seniors but no action was taken by the college authorities, his friends said, as per reports. 

The victim's family has claimed that the student was allegedly thrashed by his seniors and later poisoned. 

A resident of Delhi, the student travelled to Gurgaon daily to attend his college. On Tuesday, he had appeared for his Maths examination. 

He was later found by his classmates in an unconscious state in a park outside the college premises and was taken to the hospital by the college staff, as per news reports. 

A case of negligence has been filed against college after the father of the victim said that he was not informed about his son's condition by the college authorities. source-http://zeenews.india.com

Ragging in Delhi University - Faculty of Law students held

"Six men assaulted for refusal to comply with orders to dance and do sit-ups"

Two law students have been arrested for allegedly ragging and thereafter assaulting and intimidating a first year student of Delhi University's Campus Law Centre in Delhi last week.

The victim alleged that six men had assaulted him following his refusal to comply with the orders of his seniors to dance and do sit-ups.

Amit Kumar, a resident of Bhai Parmanand Colony, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Law degree at the Centre, alleged that the assault was a consequence of an argument he had with two of his seniors on March 7, the second day of the college's annual fest which he was attending along with other fellow students.

The victim had complained that it was there that two of his seniors, Chandan Kumar and Narendra Yadav (both students of second year in the same course), came to him and asked him to join them for a dancing session in the college ground.

"I refused but they kept insisting and even forced me to join them. I did not relent and left for home," said Amit.

According to Amit, the following day while he was sitting outside his classroom with a few friends, Chandan and Narendra accompanied by several others reached there. They took the victim to a corner and ordered him to do sit-ups but once again, Amit refused to give in to their demands and tried to leave.

"At this, Narendra and Chandan waylaid me and along with their accomplices started punching and kicking me. When they saw several others coming, they left but threatened everyone present there of dire consequences if they told anyone about the incident," he said.

Amit immediately made a call to the Police Control Room upon which several policemen reached the college. Amit also told the police that his wallet containing some money and important documents was missing since the incident. Based on his complaint, a case under sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 341(wrongful restraint), 379 (theft), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 34 (common intention) was registered by the police against the accused.

The victim said that since the incident took place on the last working day before the Centre's mid-term vacations, due to which there were no classes for a week from March 10, he could not inform the college authorities.

Both Chandan and Narendra were arrested from their house on Monday and were produced at a local court on Tuesday which sent them to judicial custody. Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Sindhu Pillai said the four other accused have also been identified and a search has been launched for them. source-thehindu.com

Ragging case of Malayali students in a train at Erode in January last year -five arrested till now

Two youths accused in a ragging case in which two Malayali students were brutally tortured in a train at Erode in January last year, surrendered before the police here on Tuesday.

The surrendered are Tintu Abraham, 21, of Uzhavoor, and  Abin Sabu, 22, of Chuliodu, Nilambur.

According to the police, three other students and the prime accused in the case were arrested by the police last month.

Both of them were produced before the Kollencherry Judicial First Class Magistrate and remanded in police custody.

According to the police, it was Tintu who hit Geevarghese and Arun George using an iron rod. Abin hacked them with a blade. Later, both of them were thrown out of the running train near Erode station.

So far, the police have arrested five persons in connection with the case.

According to the police, three more persons were involved in the crime, but they are yet to be identified.

The victims, Geevarghese and Arun John, were students of Janamani Engineering College in Salem. source-newindianexpress.com

Ragging by ‘Hooligans’ on the train in 2012 of two Malayali engineering students - Third accused held

The police on Tuesday arrested the third accused in the case related to the ragging of two Malayali students at Erode last year. The accused, V L Kiran, 24, Dharsanayil House, Parassala, was arrested from a house in Udayamkulamgara.

Assistant Commissioner of Police and investigation officer Ammose Mamman said that  Kiran was living in a rented house arranged by his parents at Udayamkulamgara, eight km away  from Parasala.  "We traced his location by tracking the mobile tower location of his parents' numbers. His mother's unused mobile phone started operating around six months ago. We suspected that the mobile was being used by Kiran now.

 "From the details collected from the neighbours, we came to know that his parents visited a house in Udayamkulamgara every day.

"We reached there on Monday night. At 1.30 am when there was an electricity failure, the accused was found coming out of the house," Ammose Mamman said. He was produced before the Kolenchery Judicial First Class Magistrate and remanded in police custody till March 8.

The police said that after the ragging incident in January 2012, Kiran was hiding at his relative's house in Thiruvananthapuram.

He later moved to Bangalore and joined a BPO there. The police team had visited the company  and received information from his friends that he has moved to Parasala.The police had arrested Akhil Babu of Oachira and Tom John of Pathanamthitta in the case.

The incident occurred in 2012 when two Malayali engineering students, while returning home, were brutally ragged by a gang named 'Hooligans' on the train.

The victims, Geevarghese and Arun Raj, were hacked with a blade and were thrown out of the train. There are six accused in the case and three of them are still absconding. source-newindianexpress.com