College student assault: NHRC directs Chief Secretary to submit report within 6 weeks

HYDERABAD: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo moto cognisance of the media reports about brutal assault on a first-year BBA LLB student at the IBS College hostel in Shankarpally, Hyderabad, by a group of students on November 1. The victim was also forced to raise religious slogans by the unruly students.

The victim reportedly approached the college management but it allegedly did not act promptly. A case was registered by the police only on  November 11 after receiving a complaint sent by him through an e-mail.

The commission has observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to human rights violations of the victim due to sheer negligence, lack of supervision and inherent failure of the college administration. It appears that nothing has improved despite the regulation issued by the UGC in 2009 on curbing the menace of ragging in higher educational institutions, NHRC observed.

It has issued a notice to the State Chief Secretary (CS) calling for a report on the ragging issue within six weeks. The report should include the action taken report, along with the reasons for the prima facie
failure of the institution to take adequate steps to prevent ragging in accordance with the UGC regulation, and the steps taken or proposed to be taken to punish the perpetrators of the offence, its abettors and sympathizers as per the UGC Act.

Another notice has been issued to the State Director General of Police (DGP) regarding the status of the criminal case registered against the assailants and teaching/non-teaching staff of the college concerned as reported in the news reports. Further, notice has been sent to the secretary, Union Ministry of Education as well as the secretary, UGC to submit reports regarding the steps being initiated for effective implementation of the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee to curb the menace of ragging in educational institutions.