Madurai, September 23 (IANS) In a disturbing case of ragging, a 14 -year -old student of a government industrial training institute (ITI) was snatched away with three of his hostels near Uslampatti in Madurai district and beaten brutally.
It took place on 18 September, which was filmed by another student and came out only after the video went viral on 23 September, which led to widespread resentment.
Police said the victims, the first year ITI students of Varusanadu in the erstwhile district, joined after passing class VIII and were living in the hostel run by Kallar’s Recruitment Department.
The accused, aged 15 and 17, were also first year students.
Based on the complaint of the victim’s father, the police registered a case under the Tamil Nadu prohibition of the Ragging Act, 1997, as well as an attack and criminal intimidation.
The teenagers have been detained for investigation.
Madurai Superintendent of Police BK Arvind clarified that the attack was “a case of ragging and not caste-based violence.”
The latest case has drawn strong reactions as ragging continues to plague educational institutions in Tamil Nadu despite repeated cracks and legal provisions.
Recently, Madurai Medical College was in the headlines when the second year MBBS students were allegedly suspended for ragging freshers during hostel hours in early 2023. The inquiry committee found evidence of physical and oral harassment for criticizing health officers and student bodies.
In 2020, a polytechnic student in Villupuram district was admitted to the hospital after hostel colleagues were forced to perform derogatory acts.
Earlier, in 2013, a first -year student of a private engineering college in Salem was stripped and beaten by seniors, an incident that condemned widely.
In 2009, a student of SVS College of Engineering in Coimbatore suffered serious injuries after the seniors attacked inside their hostels, while in the same year, a nursing student in Dharmapuri attempted suicide after continuous ragging.
Tamil Nadu, despite being one of the first states of the country to enact a dedicated anti -opposing law in 1997, these events live on the surface, highlight the gaps in enforcement and monitoring.
Child rights activists and academics have repeatedly asked for strict hostel supervision, confidential reporting mechanisms and awareness campaigns to ensure that young students are saved from such misuse.
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