ANANTAPUR: The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University Anantapur (JNTUA) authorities have suspended 18 students for allegedly ragging their juniors.
The seniors have allegedly called the first year students over their mobile phones and asked some of them to come to their hostel rooms where the latter were forced to dance in a semi-nude condition. The juniors were reportedly threatened not to inform the professors or any officials about their act.
The hostel facility for the students had started in December and since then the seniors have allegedly been harassing their juniors.
JNTUA engineering college principal P Sujatha said they got information from the staff that three juniors were missing from their rooms during routine checks on Friday night. The principal, along with professors, went to the hostel and got confirmation that three students were missing.
Later, the three students reached the hostel and when asked, they told the university authorities that they were on the campus.
Sources said on Friday night, JNTUA Registrar Chundupalli Sashidhar got a phone call from the parent of a first-year student about ragging of juniors by seniors and the missing of a student from the hostel, following which the authorities visited the hostel and started an inquiry.
Sujatha said the senior students told them that they had just enquired the names of the juniors and they did not resort to ragging.
The college authorities, however, maintained that any trouble caused to juniors amounts to ragging and they have to face action.
“As a disciplinary measure, we have placed 18 students under suspension from the hostel as well as from attending classes,” Sujatha said, adding that an internal anti-ragging committee is in place in the university.
The college academic council will conduct an inquiry on Monday to ascertain whether ragging took place or not and also find out if more students were involved in the incident.
Though no case has been registered by police, a deputy superintendent of police rank officer is conducting a probe into the allegation.