Five Class 12 students in Kannur, Kerala, have been booked for allegedly assaulting a junior for “not respecting seniors,” police said Friday. The incident occurred on February 12 at a higher secondary school, just days after a similar case of ragging was reported from a nursing college in Kottayam. Kolavallur Police have registered a case for causing hurt and unlawful restraint against five students, all over the age of 18. Three of them have been identified. Authorities are awaiting a report from the school before invoking Sections 3 and 4 of the Kerala Anti-Ragging Act. According to the FIR, the accused restrained and kicked the junior in the canteen, leading to a fractured hand and other injuries. The school principal confirmed the suspension of the students involved and stated that the anti-ragging committee reviewed CCTV footage and would soon submit a report to the police.
Meanwhile, in Kottayam, five students of a government nursing college were arrested for allegedly assaulting and extorting a first-year student. Congress leader V D Satheesan alleged that the accused had links with the Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the ruling CPI(M). He further linked the incident to the case of Sidharthan, a veterinary student found dead in his hostel in Wayanad last year. Satheesan accused the SFI of targeting students for money to buy drugs and liquor and criticized CPI(M) for shielding the accused.
Health Minister Veena George assured strict action against the accused in the Kottayam case. She stated that steps would be taken to expel the suspended students and that the medical education director was investigating why hostel authorities failed to intervene.
Shocking visuals surfaced from the nursing college, showing a junior student being tied to a cot and tortured. The victim was stripped half-naked, pierced with a compass, had dumbbells placed on his private parts, and facial cream poured into his mouth. The abuse occurred in the boys’ hostel and primarily targeted first-year students.
The arrested students, Samuel Johnson (20), Rahul Raj (22), Jeev (18), Rijil Jith (20), and Vivek (21), were charged under the Prohibition of Ragging Act and multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including causing hurt with dangerous means, extortion, and criminal intimidation.
The complaint revealed that ragging had been ongoing since November, with seniors extorting money from juniors to buy alcohol and frequently assaulting them. The accused have been remanded to district jail.
