GUWAHATI: Five third-year students from a government nursing college in Kottayam, Kerala, were scheduled to appear before a court on Wednesday, February 12, for allegedly subjecting first-year students to extreme physical torture, including hanging dumbbells from their private parts.
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Following a complaint filed by three first-year students detailing the inhumane treatment they suffered, authorities confirmed that the five accused students were taken into custody. The case was registered under the Anti-Ragging Act.
The victims stated that the abuse began in November 2024, and it continued for months before they finally reported it to the Kottayam Gandhinagar police. They recounted disturbing details of the ragging, alleging that they were forced to stand naked while seniors inflicted severe injuries using compasses and other sharp objects.
The victims were then compelled to apply lotion to their wounds, intensifying the pain. Additionally, they were smeared with cream on their faces and hands and forced to ingest it.
The complaint further mentioned that the accused students regularly extorted money from juniors every Sunday to purchase alcohol. After consuming liquor, the seniors allegedly assaulted the victims again. The sustained abuse left the first-year students in distress, prompting them to seek police intervention.
This incident follows a similar tragedy in Kerala weeks earlier, when a 14-year-old schoolboy in Kochi allegedly died by suicide, reportedly due to ragging. In response, Kerala's General Education Minister V Sivankutty ordered a thorough investigation into the issue, emphasising the need for stronger enforcement of anti-ragging laws across the state.
