Assaulted for ‘hurting male ego’ of seniors, says hospitalised Jharkhand engineering student

The complainant is in hospital and recovering from injuries to his ribcage and windpipe.

‘Ragging normalised’

According to him, ragging on campus has become a routine practice. Juniors are allegedly forced to keep their shirts tucked in, maintain cropped hair, and walk with their heads lowered. “We are instructed to address second-year students as ‘sir’ third-year students as ‘boss’, and final-year students as ‘big boss’,” he said, adding that women seniors are expected to be addressed as “madam”.

“Whenever seniors pass by, we are expected to bend 90 degrees to greet them. They make us sing and dance on the roadside and if we don’t comply, they hurl abuses at our mothers and sisters,” the victim said.

He alleged that such practices have been normalised in the hostel and that it has continued unchecked despite repeated complaints. “This is not the first time such attacks have taken place. Seniors have previously targeted juniors inside hostels, but faculty members and wardens never intervene. They act as if it is not their concern,” he alleged.

He claimed that on the day of the assault on him, three wardens including the first-year hostel warden were present when a mob of seniors broke the hostel gate. “Even though they saw what was happening, they did not stop them,” Gupta alleged.

Not systemic issue: principal

However, principal Sharbani Roy denied that ragging was a frequent occurrence on campus and said this was the first time a violent incident had taken place. “The guardians of the injured student filed the complaint, following which the accused were taken to the police station. All those involved have been suspended and barred from staying in the hostel,” Roy told The Indian Express.

She said the incident has been reported to the anti-ragging cell. “Usually, if there are complaints of ragging, the matter is handled by the college’s disciplinary committee. But this time, before we could take internal action, the guardians approached the police directly. The injured student was immediately taken to Sadar Hospital for treatment, and he is now stable,” she said.

Roy maintained that ragging is not a systemic issue in the institution. “Earlier, there were only small complaints which students often escalated on social media. But this is the first case where physical assault has taken place,” she said.

Police said they are examining video evidence and medical documents provided by the complainant.

Shubham Tigga hails from Chhattisgarh and studied journalism at the Asian College of Journalism. He previously reported in Chhattisgarh on Indigenous issues and is deeply interested in covering socio-political, human rights, and environmental issues in mainland and NE India. Presently based in Pune, he reports on civil aviation, other transport sectors, urban mobility, the gig economy, commercial matters, and workers' unions. You can reach out to him on LinkedIn ... Read More

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