Ragging horror raises ugly head in Kandivli college?

Yuvraj Chaurasiya, the student

A 17-year-old student of a Kandivli college has been brutally assaulted allegedly by his seniors, who he said teased and humiliated him for his long hair. The incident happened right outside the college gate and was caught on a CCTV camera, but the administration has failed to take any action. Police said they are probing the allegation. On March 10, a group of students rained blows on Yuvraj Chaurasiya and kicked him outside the gate of KES Junior College of Arts and Commerce, Kandivli West. The assault lasted an entire minute, leading to injuries all over his face.

"The seniors often teased and humiliated me for my long hair. They nicknamed me ‘Tere Naam'. I told them to call me by my name, but they wouldn't listen. On March 10, they asked me to meet them outside the college campus saying they wanted to talk. When I reached, they picked up a fight and they all attacked me. While someone pulled my hair, others kicked me. They rained blows on my face and I started bleeding through my nose and ears. There's a blood clot in my eye. My entire body hurts and I am unable to sleep properly," he told mid-day.

He added, "I could identify two boys, Ankit Jha and Saurabh Singh, and the others are my seniors whose names and classes I don't know. On the campus they often blocked my way and elbowed me, and when I objected, they abused me. This has happened multiple times."

‘No action by college'

Yuvraj's father Brijesh Chaurasiya said, "The college administration has not taken any action against the assaulters. It did not even inform us despite seeing my son bleeding." "When I returned home on the night of March 10, my wife told me that Yuvraj was assaulted by students of his college... When we went to the college the next morning, we were told by the administration to visit on Monday, i.e. on March 14. How can they be so casual about an incident of assault? My son could have died in the assault," said Brijesh, who owns a factory of imitation jewellery in Mumbai.

"On March 12, I told my wife to visit the school and find out why Yuvraj was assaulted. But the college administration told my wife that the incident happened outside the college campus and they are not responsible. Despite knowing the assaulters are from the same college, the administration failed to take any action against them," he added. "We then approached the Kandivli police, but they filed a non-cognisable offence. Where do we go now? The college administration won't take action against the assaulters and the police won't file an FIR. I felt so helpless," he said.

On March 15, Brijesh visited the college to check the footage of the CCTV camera on the campus. "They made me wait for four hours and then showed us the CCTV camera footage. My son was mercilessly beaten up by a group of boys. They gave us the footage after six days, and we submitted it to the police for further action," he added. Bijal Dattani, a managing committee member of the college, said, "I have not been apprised of the matter by the college. I need to check with the administration."

‘Not our students'

College principal Dr Lily Bhushan said, "I was on leave and joined back on March 11. Next day, I was in another college. I was informed about the incident on Monday by a teacher." "They have gone to the police and a few officers visited us today. It is not like we are protecting anyone. We are very strict with discipline. If we find out that the assaulters were from my college, we will surely take action," she said, adding that she has not seen the footage yet.

"The incident happened just outside the gate. Had it happened inside the campus, our staff would have surely taken action and informed the parents," she said. "The discipline and anti-ragging committee has seen the CCTV camera footage of the assault. But they could not identify the assaulters. We were given a few photographs and the names of the alleged assaulters by Yuvraj, but those did not match [with our records."

Zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Vishal Thakur said, "I have asked the senior inspector of Kandivli police station to verify the facts and take legal action on merit, if required." Police sources told mid-day late on Wednesday that the college has given them details of Saurabh Singh.