Muzaffarnagar college principal arrested after student’s self-immolation

Rana, a second-year BA student, set himself on fire on November 8 on the college campus after he was allegedly denied an examination form because he had not cleared his semester fees. He had paid Rs 1,750 of the roughly Rs 7,000 due. Videos from the campus showed him engulfed in flames; he suffered burns over more than 75 percent of his body and died while undergoing treatment in Delhi on November 9.

In a video recorded a day before his death, Rana accused Principal Pradeep Kumar of publicly humiliating and physically assaulting him, and said police personnel beat him when he raised the fee dispute. Following his death, the FIR was upgraded to include more serious sections and a charge of abetment to suicide was added.

This is the second major arrest in the case. The college’s physical training instructor, Sanjay Kumar, was detained two days after the incident. College manager Arvind Kumar Garg and three police officials, SI Nand Kishore, constable Gyanveer and officer Vineet Kumar, have also been named as accused.

Muzaffarnagar SP Sanjai Kumar said the three policemen have been sent on leave while investigators collect records, CCTV footage and witness statements.

Family members and student groups have mounted sustained protests outside the college, demanding a magisterial inquiry and compensation of Rs 1 crore for the bereaved family. Farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, who joined demonstrations, said, “The system killed Ujjwal Rana. He kept running between the police administration and the principal for three days, but no one listened.”

Rana’s sister, Saloni, filed the first complaint after the incident. Ujjwal, a resident of Bhadal village in Baghpat, was the son of a sugarcane farmer; his mother is deceased. In his recorded message he had said that, “If anything happens to me, the principal and the three police officials should be held responsible.”

From the homepage

Upping the ante over SIR, how Mamata is laying TMC groundwork for 2026 Bengal polls

G20 Summit: In Johannesburg, PM Modi proposes four initiatives, including one to counter drug-terror nexus

‘Go to your country’: Foreign DJ claims Goa police officer misbehaved with her, probe initiated