Fresher told to strip, hit on private parts
NEW DELHI: In yet another sordid tale of ragging in the city, a 17-year-old boy who had struggled to get an education for himself was allegedly
asked to strip and then hit on his private parts by his seniors -- all in the name of an "introduction". The boy, a student of Industrial Training Institute at Vivek Nagar in east Delhi, is recuperating at the GTB Hospital where he received three stitches on his genitals.
The incident allegedly took place around 11.15am on September 2, the second day of college for the victim. The boy's father, an auto driver from Nand Nagri, alleged that his son was beaten up with thick metal rods and sticks. The Vivek Vihar police station has registered a case under IPC sections 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person), 342 (wrongful confinement), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 34 (common intention) and arrested six students including a minor.
"The victim was ragged on the first day of his college on September 1. The student claimed that he complained about it to the principal. The next day, at least 12 second and third-year students asked him to strip in front of them. When he refused, he was hit on his private parts with a metal strip repeatedly," said Dharmendra Kumar, joint commissioner (New Delhi Range).
Kumar said the police got a call from the victim on Thursday and registered a case later in the evening. "We have arrested six accused, including a minor, and more are likely to be arrested in the next few days," he said.
The accused have been identified as Kusmakar Tripathi, Yogesh, Vinod, Raju, Satish and a 17-year-old student.
The victim, according to his brother, passed his class XII exams this year and joined ITI, Vivek Vihar, in the Mechanist (railway equipment) division. "My brother continued his studies despite our family's modest resources. He came to college for the first time on September 1. His seniors called him to a corner of the building and asked him to translate his `introductory speech' in English, a language he was weak in. Then they asked him to sing. He refused and proceeded to report the matter to the college administration," the victim's brother said.
When the boy reached college, the seniors allegedly wanted Rs 200 from him as "punishment for not doing the job". When he refused, they asked him to strip and perform a dance. "When he protested, they beat up my brother. After he began bleeding, they panicked and took him to the Hedgewar hospital where they dumped him and left. Before leaving, they threatened him not to open his mouth," claimed the brother.
The victim then called up his friends who then shifted him to the GTB Hospital. When the medico-legal case report came in, the police lodged the FIR.
Amid allegations that the institute tried to hush up the incident, the acting principal denied that he had received any complaint from the victim on either of the two days. "However, we are aware of the Supreme Court guidelines and will take severe action against all those who will be found guilty once we get the complete police report," said Prem Shankar, acting principal of the institute.
Police sources said that at least six other students were also involved in the case. "All the accused are students of the institute and we are investigating if some other juniors had also been bullied," said Anand Mohan, acting DCP (east).
