Order expelling nursing students involved in ragging to be issued soon, says Kerala Health Minister

Five students were arrested after a case was registered under the Prohibition of Ragging Act for ragging first-year students in the hostel.

Health Minister Veena George Photo | Express

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Veena George on Monday informed the assembly that orders will be issued in a day or two to expel five students involved in the ragging incident at the Government College of Nursing, Kottayam. She termed the incident as one that had "shocked the conscience of Kerala society."

The five students are already under suspension and the minister had earlier said that the students would be expelled after an inquiry.

She said that the departmental inquiry found lapses on the part of college authorities. The department suspended the Principal Sulekha A T, and the assistant professor/assistant warden-in-charge of the student's hostel, Ajeesh P Mani, pending inquiry, for allegedly failing to check ragging and effectively intervene in the matter.

The minister, however, said that the students had no history of being involved in ragging, to question raised by Congress MLA Sajeev Joseph.

Five students were arrested after a case was registered under the Prohibition of Ragging Act for ragging first-year students in the hostel.

The minister assured the House that the government would take stringent action to prevent such incidents in the future and ensure strict enforcement of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines on ragging in all colleges under the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS), including the effective functioning of anti-ragging cells.