Three held for ragging on varsity campus

Chandigarh, Aug 24: In the first major reported incident of ragging on the Punjab University campus, three university students and a form...

Chandigarh, Aug 24: In the first major reported incident of ragging on the Punjab University campus, three university students and a former student allegedly harassed and beat up 11 first year students of the chemical engineering undergraduate course in a drunken state.

The ragging incident occurred in the boys8217; hostel no. 3 late last night in the room of Ramesh Thakur 8212; one of the four accused. While three of his accomplices were caught by the hostel residents and handed over to the police, he managed to escape. The police have booked all four on the charges of illegal confinement and causing hurt, while the university authorities have sealed the hostel room in which ragging took place and expelled Ramesh Thakur, who the police said remained untraced today, from the hostel.

quot;We were about 11 boys sitting in one of the rooms on the top floor in Block I when four boys came at about 11.30 p.m. and said they were ME students. They asked us to come down to the ground floor. Then they pushed, slapped and abused us. We obeyed because they were badly drunk,quot; one of the victims told Newsline. quot;Inside one of their rooms, they kept asking questions and harassed us, slapping us every now and then. They abused some of us who are NRI quota students and beat them up saying that they had wrested some other students8217; rights to get seats in the course,quot; he continued.

The boys said that the ragging continued for about half-an-hour and the respite came when one of them was sent out quot;to call more freshersquot; and he instead managed to inform some of their seniors and other hostel residents.

quot;On entering the room we found that some of the boys were exceptionally frightened. One or two of them even started weeping. So we dragged out the four and called others. They were taken to task,quot; a resident said. Sources said that the boys were beaten up and the gatekeeper informed the hostel warden, who in turn, called the chief security officer.

While, Rajeshwar Singh, Vijay Thakur and Yogesh Thakur were arrested by the police, Ramesh escaped, officials stated. According to hostel records, both Ramesh and Rajeshwar are BE students and hostel residents, Yogesh is an ME student who was seeking admission in the same hostel. Vijay, sources stated, is a former PU student.

The PU Dean Students8217; Welfare Prof V. K. Bansal stated that Ramesh8217;s room had been sealed and a complete inquiry would be conducted into the incident. Replying to a question whether the accused had been drinking inside the hostel, he stated that if that was found true quot;strict action would followquot;. He added: quot;Instructions are already there to wardens that drinking is prohibited in the hostels. We will issue reminders.quot;

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Prof Bansal stated that the students would be given an opportunity to explain their position before rustication process is initiated. It may be recalled that a high-power 15-member committee on the campus had issued instructions that quot;anyone found involved in ragging shall be expelled from the universityquot; in July this year.