Two complaints of ragging in a fortnight, IHM feels the burn

Just a fortnight into the new academic session, the corridors of the Institute of Hotel Management, Ahmedabad are abuzz with allegations of ragging. A first year student of hotel management has accused second year students of causing him mental harassment by subjecting him to teasing and abusive words on campus. This is the second ragging complaint being reported from the institute in Koba since classes began. The first complaint was lodged with the college by a group of first year students who accused their seniors of ragging them outside the campus.

The second complaint was registered, on Tuesday, with an anti-ragging helpline commissioned by the University Grants Commission. Confirming this, an official of the UGC helpline said, “We have received acomplaint from a first year student of IHM Ahmedabad. The student has accused second year students of using abusive language. He claims they harassed and teased him on campus. We have informed the college administration about the complaint.” The college administration swung into action as soon as the helpline informed them of the allegation. Interestingly, institute authorities are treading carefully as this is the second ragging complaint registered within a fortnight.

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A first year student, requesting anonymity, said, “The incident could have happened in the hostel as we did not see any brawl in the academic building which has CCTV cameras everywhere. I live in the hostel and can imagine such a thing happening there. This usually happens because students opt for the course after completing Class 12. They are away from home for the first time and cannot handle it if a senior student instructs them even in a slightly strict tone.” There are 265 students in the first year, 240 students in the second year and 190 students in the third year of the course, officials said.

The hostel, which is on the campus, has the capacity to accommodate 200 boys and 90 girls. The administration has not been able to pinpoint either the victim or the alleged perpetrator of the crime yet. Sanjit Maji, member of the antiragging committee and a senior faculty member at IHM, said: “As soon as we got to know of the allegation, we asked first year students about the incident and told them to share details of the accused. When we did not get a proper response, we approached senior students but to no avail.” He added, “We will continue our efforts to trace the accused. We do not take ragging complaints lightly.”

Mayur Gupta, a student member of the anti-ragging committee, said, “Be it the mess, classes or hostel, we regularly check if first year students are comfortable at the institute. We make it a point to inquire about any trouble they might be facing. However, we haven’t received feedback regarding the second ragging incident from anyone yet.” Institute Director Dr J K Mangaraj told Mirror, “The second complaint was anonymous and had come to the institute through UGC. The complainant did not mention any names. We are trying to get details of the incident from our student sources. We are serious about tackling ragging complaints. We are handling the case very sensitively.” About the first complaint, Maji said, “Student members of the anti-ragging committee brought the complaint to our notice.

The incident occurred soon after classes started. A few first year students claimed that second year students had verbally abused them outside the campus. We acted swiftly and suspended two students involved in the incident.” This latest incident has left second year students shaken. Last year, too, the UGC helpline had received a similar anonymous complaint. While no one came forward with details of the alleged ragging, the institute had sent aletter of warning to parents of all students in the second year batch.

“The letter listed the consequences that students would face if found guilty. The institute also threatened to make a note of the incident in the character certificate when students passed out. We are scared that the institute will send such a letter to our parents, too,” said a second year student, refusing to be named. Director Mangaraj, however, clarified that warning students about punishment is one thing, and implementing it (making a note in the character certificate) is a different thing. The institute might not necessarily take that step.”