Murbanda engineering students told ‘to strip, walk on glass pieces’
Over 100 first-year students of the Government Engineering College-Murbanda approached the police on Sunday to complain against the inhuman treatment meted out to them by seniors during ragging.
Over 100 first-year students of the Government Engineering College-Murbanda approached the police on Sunday to complain against the inhuman treatment meted out to them by seniors during ragging.
They alleged that college seniors reportedly asked them to walk barefoot on tubelight fragments and strip naked at the college hostel.
Taking to the streets on Sunday, the students raised slogans against the college management and demanded the suspension of principal UN Yadav for his alleged inaction in the face of their complaints. “We complained to the principal a number of times, but our pleas went unheeded,” said Gautam, one of the complainants.
“Inebriated third-year students come to our hostel every night and ask us to walk barefoot on broken tubelights. They beat us and tell us to strip naked if we refuse to give in to their inhuman demands,” said Inranil Mukherjee, a fresher, adding that there are about 144 first-year students in the college.
Mukherjee said seniors had pelted a group of first-year students with stones a few days ago, injuring at least ten of them.
The college principal defended himself by dubbing the incidents as an “outcome of internal rivalry” between freshers and senior students. “Brawls between seniors and the juniors are being wrongfully painted as instances of ragging,” said Yadav.
He pointed out that of the 752 students in the co-ed college, none of the girls had complained of ragging. “Only boys from Dhanbad have sustained injuries in the clashes. All the allegations against me are baseless,” said Yadav.
Superintendent of police Tamilwanan told HT that the complaints will be investigated. A police officer said the Rajrappa police were already on the case.