Eleven Keralites have been arrested for ragging junior students from the formers’ native state. The arrested are nursing and physiotherapy students of Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences at Deralakatte, Mangaluru. They are Muhammad Shammas (Vadakara), Robin Biju (Kottayam), Alwin Joy (Vaikom), Jabin Mahroof (Manjeri), Jeron Cyril (Kottayam), Muhammad Suraj (Pathanamthitta), Jafin Royichan (Kasargod), Aasin Babu (Vadakara), Abdul Basith (Malappuram), Abdul Anas Muhammad (Kanjangad) and KS Akshay (Ettumanoor).
According to police officials, the 11-member gang ragged five of their juniors by making them shave off their moustaches and beards. The juniors lodged a complaint with the college authorities after being ragged continuously for a few days, and the authorities approached the police. A case has been registered against the accused under the newly introduced law against ragging in Karnataka.
This incident follows close to the heels of another where nine Keralite students of Srinivas College of Pharmacy in Valachil, Mangaluru were arrested last month for ragging a first-year student. The arrested students were identified as Jishnu, Shrikantrikanta PV, Ashwanth, Sayanth, Abhirath Rajiv, Rahul P, Jishnu, Mukhtarukhthar Ali, and Mohammed Razeem K. According to police, the first-year student Abhiraj — also a Keralite — was “forced to cut his hair, moustache and was abused with foul language”.
“We had also come to know that when Abhiraj visited the paying guest hostel, he also saw four other first-year students being ragged by seniors. Fed up and unable to bear the ragging that was constantly going on, Abhiraj decided to inform his parents, and as per his wish, his parents agreed that he could stop attending classes at that college. After the victim informed his parents, they filed a complaint with the police, during which the management came to know about the incident, and the nine students were arrested,” said Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar during a press conference.
