Two days after the arrest of five seniors at the government nursing college in Kottayam, Kerala, for assaulting and extorting money from a first-year student, police said Thursday they were looking into whether there were more victims.
Meanwhile, a video of the incident was circulated on Thursday and Kottayam SP Shahul Hameed said police were also looking into who shot the video and how it was made public.
“So far, only one student has complained. We are looking to see whether more students were tortured. We will record the statements of more students. Besides, we will also investigate whether the matter took place with the connivance of authorities, including the hostel warden,” the SP said.
According to the officer, police got a complaint regarding the matter on Tuesday (February 11) and the five accused students were arrested the same day. “The complainant student informed the college authorities on the same day. They, in turn, handed over the complaint to police. The arrested were booked for causing hurt, criminal intimidation and extortion. Besides, they were slapped with sections four and five of Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act,” said the SP.
The “ragging” incidents went on between November 16 last year and February 10. It was alleged that the ragging began with the seniors threatening juniors to send them money online. Later, the seniors allegedly placed a knife to the neck of the complainant because he did not “respect” seniors.
The video that came out on Thursday showed the complainant in a cot with his hands and legs tied up. The seniors were seen jabbing him with a sharp object, said to be a compass from a geometry set. While the victim was heard crying out, his assailants could be heard laughing. They were also seen pouring lotion into his mouth.
The father of the complainant said the family did not know about the torture that his son was undergoing on campus. “Only on February 11, the day he complained to the college principal, was I also told about the ragging. Many students have faced a similar experience, but they are all afraid of speaking out,” he said.
Story continues below this ad
The five students arrested in the case have been suspended by the college. They were members of the Kerala Government Student Nurses Association (KGSNA) – a student group not affiliated with any political party – and one of them was its state general secretary. Like many other nursing and medical colleges in the state, the government nursing college in Kottayam also does not have any units of party-affiliated student groups such as SFI and KSU.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
