Nine JNU students rusticated for two years for ragging

The Hindu Report on 20/08/2009

Ten others expelled from campus hostel for a year

‘JNU has not witnessed ragging in its 40-year history’

All 19 students were served show-cause notices on Tuesday

NEW DELHI: Acting tough, Jawaharlal Nehru University here has rusticated nine students for two years and declared the campus out of bounds for them. All nine had been caught ragging their juniors.

Another batch of ten students, including three girls, who were witness to the incidents but did not stop or report them, have been expelled from the campus hostel for a year with immediate effect.

‘Strong message’

All are students of Master of Computer Applications at the JNU School of Computer and Systems Sciences.

The decision was taken after the report of a proctorial inquiry was presented before Vice-Chancellor B. B. Bhattacharya on Wednesday.

“JNU has not witnessed ragging in its 40-year history. We want to keep our anti-ragging tradition alive. It is important to send out a strong message to students who indulge in ragging,” Prof. Bhattacharya told The Hindu.

“As per the regulations of the University Grants Commission, at the time of the admission this year we asked the students to sign an affidavit that they would not get involved in ragging. It is unfortunate that in spite of this, they took part in such activities,” he lamented.

All the 19 students were served show-cause notices on Tuesday evening after the inquiry found them guilty.

The inquiry committee was formed after a first year MCA student complained to the authorities last week that freshers were being “tortured”.

‘Response not satisfactory’

Thereafter the JNU anti-ragging squad also allegedly caught some MCA students ragging freshers and consequently the administration withdrew the hostel facilities of four senior students last Thursday.

“The students’ responses to the show-cause notices were not satisfactory and convincing, after which we decided to award them final punishment. Nine students have been rusticated for four semesters, while ten others who were present as silent spectators, have been expelled from the hostel for two semesters,” said Chief Proctor H. B. Bohidar.

The inquiry established that even though the acts of ragging were “mild”, they were going on unreported since the beginning of this month.

“Baggage of ragging”

“We also discussed during the investigation why all these ragging activities were concentrated in one particular School (of Computer and Systems Sciences). It appears that most students from this School have done their under-graduate studies from a technical institution. Most of these professional colleges have some tradition of ragging,” observed Prof. Bohidar.

“They tend to carry that baggage of ragging here to JNU and ruin the ethos of our campus,” he rued.

It is for the first time that a case of ragging was reported by a student. JNU had also reported the matter to the police.

Now JNU catches ragging virus

(Parul Sharma)

The Hindu Daily

Friday, Aug 14, 2009

NEW DELHI: Jawaharlal Nehru University, which always prided itself on being a “ragging-free” campus, received a severe jolt on Thursday as four Master of Computer Applications students were expelled from the campus hostel after being caught ragging their juniors.

The JNU administration will also issue show-cause notices on Friday to another group of MCA students who have been accused of ragging freshers for the past ten days.

This is perhaps the first time that a ragging incident has been reported on the JNU campus since the inception of the institution 40 years ago in 1969.

An FIR has also been lodged with the police against the eight MCA students, enrolled at the JNU School of Computer and Systems Sciences.

A first-year MCA student had lodged a complaint with the authorities on Wednesday.

The victim, a resident of Tapti Hostel on the campus, had written to the authorities charging that freshers were being “tortured mentally and physically for the last ten days”.

“Some students had to go to the hospital…..Please help us and save us from being tortured…..They make us ‘murga’, use unparliamentary language…..they abuse us, demoralise us and threaten us…..” read the victim’s complaint.

Even while the student was discussing his complaint with the Inter-Hall Administration (which runs all the hostels on the JNU campus) on Wednesday afternoon, he received a call from his seniors to come over to a particular room in Sabarmati Hostel.

The anti-ragging squad was alerted and it followed him to the hostel.“The anti-ragging squad followed the boy and they saw a group of seniors and juniors sitting in one room. The freshers were sitting with the head lowered and it was obvious that ragging was taking place,” said JNU Rector-II Ramadhikari Kumar on Thursday.

“The squad caught the students red-handed while ragging,” said Proctor Neera Kongari, adding, “The hostel facilities of four MCA students have been withdrawn with immediate effect pending proctorial inquiry, which will investigate the case further and submit its report in the next seven days.”

However, the accused students would continue to attend classes till the inquiry is completed.

Apart from those allegedly caught red-handed, the victim identified through photographs another set of four MCA seniors who had ragged him earlier. Show-cause notices will be sent to them on Friday.

“Only students of one particular school on the campus have been accused of ragging. Some of them are from the second year, while others are from the third year. They would rag their freshers in different hostels,” said Prof. Kumar. The authorities have assured all support to the victim.

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