Keonjhar: Intensifying concerns about persistent harassment on campuses in Odisha colleges, a second-year student of Keonjhar Government Degree Engineering College was hospitalised with serious injuries after allegedly being ragged by senior students in the hostel room on Tuesday night. Following a complaint by the victim student's father, the college authorities expelled the five accused students from the college as disciplinary action and initiated a thorough probe into the incident.
According to the complaint, five senior students broke into the victim's room, attacked him, and tortured him with an iron rod leaving him with severe injuries. After his father came to know of the incident, he rushed his son to the district headquarters hospital and filed a complaint with the Keonjhar Town Police.
“These students stormed into my son’s room, broke down the door, and beat him mercilessly. He was defenseless,” the father alleged, expressing frustration over the lack of preventive measures by the college authorities.
Dr. Saroj Sarangi, the college principal, confirmed the disciplinary action taken, noting that the students involved have been expelled from the campus until the next academic year. “The hostel warden informed me of the incident that night. We are convening the college’s disciplinary committee to discuss the case thoroughly,” he added. “We are committed to ensuring such incidents do not recur on campus.”
Meanwhile, Keonjhar Town Police have started their investigation. A team of police visited the college and collected initial statements. “We are taking this case very seriously and have begun collecting evidence and statements,” said a police offiicial.
According to the victim, this was not the first time he experienced harassment from the accused seniors. He alleged that prior complaints were dismissed with only a warning to the offenders, which, he claimed, encouraged them further. “The college authorities ignored our earlier complaints. We warned them, but they took no serious action,” the father added.
The college administration’s response is now under scrutiny, with students and parents demanding stricter regulations to curb campus violence. Police and college authorities say they will investigate thoroughly to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Similarly, in a strict action against ragging at MKCG Medical College, Berhampur recently, five fourth-year students were expelled from the hostel and banned from campus for six months following a complaint. The incident took place on the hostel rooftop from midnight until early morning where the accused students allegedly harassed a second-year student. After a detailed investigation and an anti-ragging committee meeting, the college administration filed a formal police complaint.
Close on the heels of the MKCG incident, the SCB Medical College and Hospital too was in the eye of a storm after a ragging incident came to the fore. Allegations of final-year students harassing the first-year created furore among the students and the parents.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued several notifications and guidelines to address ragging in higher education institutions (HEIs) in India. Regulations on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions, 2009 are mandatory for all HEIs to implement. However, the incidents of ragging have been surfacing from across the state at regular intervals.
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