Ragging continues unabated in Berhampur, this time in school

In a disturbing incident, a Class VI student was allegedly ragged and harassed by his seniors at a school in the Silk City of Berhmapur on Friday.

The incident came to the fore after the victim’s mother lodged a complaint in this connection. In the FIR, the complainant has alleged that she had narrated her son’s ordeal to the school authorities, but they paid no heed.

The incident has been reported from Gurukul International School in Gosaninuagaon area of Berhampur. The victim on several occasions was allegedly beaten up by his seniors who threatened him with dire consequences if he revealed about his torture to anyone.

However, the boy narrated his ordeal to his mother who tried to bring the matter to the notice of the school authorities, but to no avail. With no options left, she then approached the local police and lodged a complaint.

The Saffron party, BJP has severely condemned the heinous act and demanded action in this connection. However, the school authorities refrained from commenting in the issue.

In a similar incident, authorities of Orissa School of Mining Engineering (OSME), Keonjhar imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 each on 82 3rd year students for allegedly ragging 2nd year students.

This apart, the students will also be barred from availing books from the college library during 5th and final semesters. The action was taken after the victim students submitted a written complaint to the Principal.

A few days back, a purported video of a student of Binayak Acharya College in Berhampur ragging his juniors surfaced on the internet. In the video, a student can be seen holding a plastic pipe and asking his junior- a boy and a girl- to act as a couple. They are being forced to kiss each other. The raggers can also be seen abusing and thrashing the duo in presence of the other students.

Similarly, another such incident was reported from Khalikote Junior College where a girl student was allegedly subjected to ragging and torture within the institute’s premises by her seniors.

As per the allegations, a few boys from the senior batch followed the Plus II first-year girl to the classroom and ragged her.

Similarly, a second-year engineering student was allegedly ragged and beaten up by his seniors at the prestigious Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) in Burla. According to the complainant, a group of his seniors first ragged him and brutally thrashed him, threatening him against speaking about the torture to anyone.

The unabated rise in ragging in Odisha has become a matter of concern. While ragging is usually reported from colleges, the spurt in cases of ragging in schools has become matter of concern for guardians and parents.