KOTTAYAM: The victims of ragging at the boys hostel of the Government College of Nursing in Kottayam were allegedly forced to endure a series of brutal physical and mental assaults. After being tied to a cot, one of the victims had gymnasium weights placed on private parts, his body pierced with a geometry box divider and slathered with lotion.
After the shocking episode came to light, five general nursing senior students were arrested for the hazing of six first-year students. The arrested have been identified as Samuel Johnson, 20, of Moonnilavu, Kottayam; Jeeva N S, 18, of Pulpally, Wayanad; Rahul Raj K P, 22, of Wandoor, Malappuram; Rijiljith C, 21, of Manjeri, Malappuram; and Vivek N V, 21, of Koruthodu, Kottayam.
According to one of the victims, the ragging had gone on for nearly three months. Police said the activity began last November, shortly after classes of the first-year batch began.
The senior students regularly extorted money from juniors to buy alcohol and frequently assaulted them. The victims said they were forced to endure various forms of physical and mental abuse, including being made to strip naked. However, the brutal physical torture happened on December 13. The seniors also recorded videos of the incident. The victims were forced to consume alcohol, with seniors recording videos of them doing so and threatening to release the footage if they reported the incident.
Unable to bear the harassment any longer, some students shared their experience with their parents, who informed college authorities. After a preliminary investigation by the internal committee, authorities lodged a complaint with Kottayam Gandhinagar police. “A commission has been constituted to conduct a detailed in-house probe.
The Directorate of Medical Education and the Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council have also been alerted to the incidents,” said Lini Joseph, the principal in-charge.
“The torture started in November. The recent physical assault prompted the victims to report it to their parents. The accused were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody,” said T Sreejith, station house officer, Gandhinagar.
Meanwhile, the college administration suspended the students involved, pending further inquiry into the episode.
According to Lini, all male students of the first-year batch reported harassment. “The college has an active anti-ragging committee and an anti-ragging squad that frequently conducts inspections in the college as well as at the hostel. However, none of these students had reported any incident of abuse before,” she added.