National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday took suo motu cognizance of reports that a 1st-year student of BBA LLB at IBS College hostel in Shankarpally, Hyderabad was ragged, brutally assaulted and compelled to raise religious slogans by a group of students on 1st November.
“Reportedly, the victim approached the college management but they did not react promptly. A case was registered by the police only on 11th November, 2022 on a complaint by e-mail sent by the victim,” the NHRC press release read.
The commission has observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to human rights violations of the victim due to sheer negligence, lack of supervision and inherent failure of the college administration to ensure the safety and security of each and every student within the campus of IBS College, it read further.
It appears that nothing has improved despite the UGC Regulation on Curbing the Menace of Ragging in Higher Educational Institutions way back in 2009, it added.
The commission has further observed that if a slew of measures like regular interaction and counseling of the students to identify an early indication of ragging by holding surprise inspections at hostels, students’ accommodations, canteens, recreation rooms, toilets, etc. were implemented, this unwarranted incident of ragging may have been prevented, the statement said.
Accordingly, the Commission has issued a notice to the Chief Secretary of Telangana calling for a report within six weeks in the matter. It should include an action taken report, along with the reasons for the prima facie failure of the institution to take adequate steps to prevent ragging in accordance with the University Grants Commission, UGC regulation, and the steps taken or proposed to be taken to punish the perpetrators of the incident of ragging, its abettors and sympathizers by attracting punitive action under the UGC Act, it mentioned.
8 arrested so far
Eight students of a business school here were arrested in connection with the ragging incident which assumed a communal colour after a video of it had gone viral. While five were arrested earlier, three were arrested and sent to jail on Monday, police said.
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