The police on Friday arrested two fourth year students of a private engineering college in Coimbatore and their friend on charges of ragging a second year student, accusing him of “not respecting seniors”.
The arrested were identified as Muthukumar (21) of Kumbakonam and Gokul (21) of Karur, both fourth year engineering students of RVS College of Engineering and Technology at Kannampalayam near Sulur, and their friend Dhanapal (25) who had been working in a tea stall at Sulur.
The trio was arrested after the second year student lodged a complaint with the Sulur police late on Friday, alleging that the accused harassed and assaulted him, after taking him to the residence of Dhanapal.
This is the second case of ragging reported in Coimbatore district within a gap of 18 days. Seven students were arrested in the first incident that was reported at the college hostel of PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, on November 6.
As per the complaint lodged by the affected student, who hails from Salem, he stayed in the college hostel along with 12 students who were doing the same course. Muthukumar, Gokul and two third year students of the college visited the second year students around 4.30 p.m. on Wednesday. The seniors told them to come to classes with tucked-in full sleeve shirts and not to tie religious threads around their wrists nor sit cross-legged in front of seniors. Annoyed over the senior students’ acts, the affected student, aged 19, left the hostel.
According to the complainant, the 13 students were asked to come to the room of a fourth year student, Venkatesh, at Sulur at 4.30 p.m. on Thursday. When they visited the room, the seniors asked all, except the affected student, to leave the place, after warning them of repercussions for disrespecting seniors.
Later, according to the complainant, Muthukumar and Gokul took him to the room of Dhanapal on a two-wheeler. The trio assaulted him and abused him verbally. The accused also broke his watch and mobile phone, besides threatening him not to disclose the incident to anyone. The affected student approached the Sulur police around 8.30 p.m., after informing the hostel warden about the ordeal.
The police registered a case under Sections 294 (b) (obscene acts and songs), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (1) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 (penalty for ragging) of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1997. They were arrested on Saturday.
Coimbatore District (Rural) Superintendent of Police V. Badrinarayanan said the police would continue to take swift action against those who indulge in ragging.
