Another case of ragging has been reported in Kerala where a first year BSC biotechnology student of a government college in Thiruvananthapuram was allegedly assaulted by seven members of SFI, the student wing of Kerala’s ruling SPI (M). The members, all final-year students named Alan, Anandan, Velu, Salman, Shravan, Pardhan and Immanuel have been suspended from the college on Tuesday and a case has been registered against them.
After the complaint of the first year student named Binz Jose, the Anti-ragging cell of Kariavattom Government college submitted a report which led to the suspension of the SFI members. As per the complainant, there was a clash between the seniors and juniors in the campus on February 11 in which a first year student got injured. This led the SFI members barging into the hostel looking out for the student who filed the complaint. When they couldn’t find him, they took hold of Jose taking him to a room of SFI used for organizational activities.
The seniors attacked Jose with sticks and stones at the campus before locking him in the room. They started beating him, and forced him to kneel down on his knees in front of them for an hour. When asked for water, the student was given a bottle by one of the members after spitting in it. He was beaten up further after refusing to drink.
The anti-ragging cell checked the CCTV footage, verifying the allegations. The matter was then handed over to the police. A case has been registered under the Section 4 of Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act and other sections of BNS for unlawful assembly, rioting, wrongful restraint among others.
There is already a public outrage in the state over the physical assault of juniors by senior students at Kottayam Government Nursing College. Earlier, a college student named Sidharthan died by suicide on February 18, 2023 in Wayanad, Kerala. He allegedly faced ragging, leading him take his life. SFI was criticized back then also, for its members’ involvement in the case. The incidents recently have triggered a political row where other political parties are demanding for the disbandment of SFI.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also expressed his concern over the incident, calling it “appalling”. He took to X, “One more case in today’s news, this time from Thiruvananthapuram. Appalling. Evil clearly lurks not far from the surface of our society. The challenge for responsible adults is to stamp it out and also to instil the behavioral standards that alone will guarantee the survival and progress of our civilization.”
Kerala Minister of Higher Education and Social Justice, Dr. R Bindu has said that they are planning to form a state level anti-ragging cell in order to prevent ragging activities in campuses. She even stated that they have sought reports from Directorate of Collegiate Education and will ensure strict action in this regard.
Until this happens, six more students from third-year have been booked for ragging a first-year BBA student in campus on February 14. The incident is of Holy Cross Institute of Management and Technology at Erhanipalam in Kozhikode city, Kerala. The Nadakkavu Police has registered a case against them on Tuesday, based on the victim’s complaint. The incident occurred after a cultural event, where the first-year student was asked to remove sunglasses he had worm for the programme. When he refused to do so, the seniors started beating him and kicking him. Two students have been suspended and disciplinary action was taken against the others.
It’s not that the incidents are only in recent times, ragging has existed in various institutions since long. It’s just that a few are brought to attention and get reported. The rising ragging cases demand strict action and a serious attention towards these, until more students face brutality and lose their lives.