Aman Kachroo ragging case convict moves HC against judgement

Verma,who was sentenced to a four-year imprisonment along with three other students for causing Kachroo’s death,has pleaded not guilty and blamed media hype over the case for his conviction.

Verma’s counsel Anup Chitkara contended that when the four culprits had started to rag Kachroo the night before he died,Verma had sent the first-year medicine student back to his room after the boy told him about a problem in his ear.

This incident proved that the appellant had no intention to cause any physical harm to Kachroo,Chitkara said.

19-year-old Kachroo,a first year MBBS student of R P Government Medical college in Tanda (Kangra),was subjected to assault by his seniors Ajay Verma,Naveen Verma,Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma under the pretext of ragging on the intervening night of March 6 and 7 last year.

He died on March 8,after lodging a complaint with the college authorities. According to medical reports,the boy died died due to brain haemorrhage.

On November 11,a sessions court in Dharamsala convicted all the four accused under Section 304 (2) of the IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced them to four years’ rigorous imprisonment and also imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 on each of them.

Verma’s counsel said the case was highlighted by the media and contended that the trial could neither be termed fair nor could it be said that the trial judge was “not at all” influenced by the hype created by the press attention.

It was further alleged in the appeal that evidence was brought out against Verma during the hearing in connivance with the police and the appellant (Kachroo’s father) and that no case could be made out against Verma.