A student from Changanassery has reported loss of sight in his right eye in an alleged ragging-related attack in an engineering college in Tirunelveli.
Addressing presspersons at the Ernakulam Press Club on Thursday, the victim, a second-year student of National College of Engineering, Maruthakulam, said the senior students from Kerala hit his face with a metal piece at the college hostel on March 19. “They dragged me to the verandah and continued to kick and slap me. By that time, my eyes began to bleed and the college authorities sent me to an eye hospital,” he said.
He said the seniors assaulted him again when he returned to college, despite the intervention of some other senior students and teachers. They threatened to seek the assistance of local anti-social elements against him and made him sign some papers. By April 2, the vision in his right eye was lost. A surgery at a Kochi hospital could restore only 10 per cent of the vision. The doctors said the damage would be permanent.
He said that when his father called up the college principal demanding action against the culprits, the latter ridiculed him and alleged that the father and son were trying to make money out of the incident.
He said the seniors indulging in ragging had been emboldened by the college management's alleged inaction.
His mother said the college was refusing to take action, despite a complaint being sent to the management trust's Dubai office, the police and other authorities. “We paid over Rs.4 lakh in fees and had to spend Rs.2 lakh on my only son's eye treatment. Now, his future is at stake since he may have to discontinue studies,” she said.
