Staff Reporter
ITANAGAR, Mar 12: A 17-year-old first year civil engineering student from Arunachal was assaulted at NIT Agartala in an alleged campus ragging on 10 March last.
The victim, Dui Doji, who hails from West Siang district, was allegedly attacked by about 20 seniors at 1 pm at his hostel and received grievous injuries all over his body.
“His left ear drum has been ruptured, his eyes are swollen and he has also fractured his fingers”, Dui’s sister informed.
She alleged that the senior boys called up the junior boys at 1 pm in the morning for a meeting. One of the senior students, Rituraj Tiwari asked Dui from which state he belonged to and then slapped him for not speaking Hindi properly. Rituraj, a final year student from UP along with 20 others beat him up mercilessly till he felt unconscious and snatched away his phone. Dui was able to call home only after they returned his phone only around 5:30 in the morning.
“We were shocked when we came to know about the incident. My mother and father were inconsolable; my father who is in Agartala now, could not hold back his tears when he met the dean of the institute after the incident”.
The family has currently lodged an FIR with the police despite the Dean’s earlier pleas to refrain from lodging a complaint.
As per reports, the boys have been rusticated by the authorities with a fine of Rs 10, 000.
Meanwhile, the Galo Students Union has in a representation to the state Home Minister had strongly urged him to take up the matter with his Tripura counterpart including the NIT authorities and MHRD, Government of India. It has also appealed to shift the student to NIT Yupia, Arunachal Pradesh from NIT Agartala so that his studies are not affected.
“Ragging in any form is banned and prohibited by the Supreme Court of India. As per UGC regulations, it is mandatory for a college to register an FIR with the police against the culprits if any violence, physical abuse, sexual harassment, confinement, etc takes place with any fresher. After receiving any such complaint from the helpline, it becomes the duty of the head of the institution to register the FIR with police within 24 hours. But, it is surprising to note that the authorities at NIT, Agartala have, instead of following the UGC regulations and initiating any action against the accused, are putting pressure on the victim and his parents to withdraw the complaint who are currently staying in the guest house of the college”, the union added.
The Dean of Students Welfare did not respond to the calls made by this daily for a statement.
Meanwhile, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb to take action in the alleged ragging at the NIT.
Rijiju telephoned the Tripura chief minister and DGP A K Shukla and asked them to do the needful on the “violent incident of ragging”.
“The violent incident of Ragging at NIT, Agartala is very unfortunate. I spoke to CM @BjpBiplab ji and DGP Tripura. The police is taking appropriate actions (sic), Rijiju tweeted.
