Yogesh K Porwar
As many as 22 college students and one outsider were booked for allegedly ragging their juniors and attacking a staff member,officials said on Thursday.
The Devanahalli police registered the FIR on January 16 following a complaint by Midhun Madhavan,34,who worked as the head of the admission department at Akash Group of Institutions in Devanahalli.
Three suspects–Bilal,Mohammed Noushad,and Afsal,all students aged 21-22,have been placed under arrest, while efforts are underway to trace the others,officials said.The arrested have been remanded in judicial custody, senior officersaid.
Further he said the 22 students named in the FIR were studying BPharma,Nursing,Diploma,health science, Medical Imaging Technology (MIT) and physiotherapy.
The FIR notes that the suspects ragged the first-year students inside the campus and told them to listen to them as they were the seniors.
The aggrieved students reached out to Madhavan and told him that the seniors were making them fetch cigarettes,drinks,carry their books around and made to follow similar orders.Madhavan told the senior students not to repeat it,the FIR noted.
On January 15,at 5 pm,the seniors repeated the same behaviour,leading the juniors to inform Madhavan again. Madhavn went to meet the seniors who were in a tea shop behind the college.
Madhavan,with the aggrieved junior students,met the seniors at around 9 pm.
However,the situation escalated, leading to the senior student’s assaulting the juniors and Madhavan.The FIR noted that the arrested suspect Bilal also took away one of the junior’s 32-gram gold chain.
Naveen,an outsider who was with the seniors, also attacked them with rods,stick and stone and then threatened them,the FIR noted.
The police have booked the suspects under relevant BNS sections and sections of the Karnataka Education Act.Probe is on.
