Claims roommates torturing her forced her to take drastic step; college claims girl suffers from depression, denies any incident of ragging took place
A 20-year-old student of a city-based college attempted suicide by consuming poison at her Goregaon hostel on Tuesday night. The girl alleges that constant ragging by her roommates had troubled her and unable to bear the torment, she decided to end her life. She was discharged from hospital yesterday, and has subsequently filed a complaint with the anti-ragging cell.
ADVERTISEMENT
No end in sight: The police had retrieved a suicide note from Anita Pai’s pocket in which she wrote she could not put up with the torture her roommates subjected her to, and hence wanted to end her life
Anita Pai (name changed), an orphan who was raised at a shelter managed by Sneha Sadan in Chembur, is a student of Nirmala Niketan College of Social Work, Churchgate, and is in her final year at the college. She alleges that after being ragged for a month by three of her roommates, she decided to take the drastic step.
After Pai consumed poison, she called up one of her friends who immediately alerted the police. Goregaon police arrived at the hostel and first took a semiconscious Pai to Bhagwati hospital, after which she was transferred to Sion hospital.
The police had retrieved a suicide note from the girl’s pocket in which she wrote that she could not put up with the torture her roommates subjected her to, and hence wanted to end her life.
“I had to miss a test in college that morning, as my roommates hid my cupboard key and I couldn’t get ready for college,” said Pai. “That very same night they verbally abused me and after putting up with similar harassment for a month I was fed up and decided to end my life,” she added.
“My roommates knew I had consumed poison, but none of them came forward to help me,” said Pai. She further alleged that even after complaining to her college administration no action was taken against her roommates.
College authorities, however, contrary to the girls claim state that she harassed her roommates, as she is mentally unstable, and have sent her back to Sneha Sadan following the incident.
“We have sent her back to the institute because of her misconduct in the past two to three days. Sneha Sadan had asked us to keep her in the hostel ever since she joined our college, but now we have decided not to let her stay here,” said Lidvin Dias, faculty member of the college.
Geeta Balakrishnan, principal of the college, denied that Pai has been expelled from hostel or was even ragged. She said, “The girl is epileptic, and she is undergoing medical treatment.
But, because she is on a diet she used to skip her medicine intake. Our college counsellors, including me, have counselled her several times, as she is psychologically depressed. There has never been any ragging incident in our college or hostel. Any student or any of her roommates never ragged her. She attempted suicide because of her psychological problem. The three students are just a month old in the hostel and are postgraduate students.”
Suresh Shinde, senior inspector with Vanrai Police station, said, “Preliminary investigations are ongoing, and the girl is a little mentally disturbed according to her college officials and her hostel staff. They also say that she was troubling other students. Her roommates never ragged her, as she is senior to them. They have been at that hostel for only a month. How can they rag her?”
— Inputs by Kranti Vibhute
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
