A two-member anti-ragging committee set up by the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) to probe the allegation of ragging by a 1st B.Sc. nursing student in Kalaburagi has indicated that no evidence could be found of the girl being ragged in the hostel.
The report submitted last week, however, does not clearly take a stand on whether ragging took place or not, and instead says to whom the two-member committee spoke before filing the report.
B.Sc. student at Al Qamar College of Nursing K.P. Aswathy (19) had consumed toilet cleaner at the hostel on May 9, in an alleged instance of ragging by eight of her seniors. The girl, a Dalit, hails from Malappuram district, and the incident came to light last Tuesday after an advocate alerted the media. The nursing college is run by a trust headed by former minister Qamarul Islam.
The Principal and Vice-principal of Al Qamar College Esther Rani and Bushra Sultana denied any such incident of ragging in the institute on May 9, the committee in its one-page report said. The committee comprised Dean of ESI Medical College, Kalaburagi, M.R. Chandrashekar, and Principal of Khaja Banda Nawaz Medical College, Kalaburagi Imtiyaz Ul Haq.
Unable to meet roommateThe principal told the committee that while Aswathy was taken to the Bahamani Hospital by her seniors, the hospital did not admit her following which she was taken to the Basaveshwara Teaching Hospital.
The report further stated that the committee interviewed two more girls, staying in the hostel located 6 km from the college, who also denied any ragging on the college hostel. The committee said that it was unable to interview Ms. Aswathy’s room-mate Sainihitha, who is in Kerala with her.
K.S. Ravindranath, Vice Chancellor of the RGUHS, said that the committee had not found any evidence of ragging.
“However, we will initiate action against the college if charges of ragging are proved,” he said.
“How can they make such a statement without taking the victim’s version? The police investigation has just begun,” said K.P. Mohammed Shafi, counsel for Ms Aswathy, in response to the RGUHS statement.
Raj Kachroo, Trustee of the Aman Satya Kachroo Trust, which works with the UGC to manage and monitor the National Ragging Prevention Programme, said most colleges were known to push incidents of ragging under the carpet.
(With inputs from Kozhikode)
