'Dumbbells On Private Parts', 'Wounds With Compass': Nursing Students Recall Ragging Horror

In Kerala, according to the complaint, the ragging began at Government Nursing College in Kottayam in November 2023 and escalated to extreme levels of physical and psychological torture.

Five senior nursing students have been arrested for allegedly subjecting their juniors to months of brutal ragging at Government Nursing College in Kottayam, Kerala. The Kottayam Gandhinagar police registered a case on Wednesday after three first-year students filed a complaint detailing the horrific abuse they endured.

The accused, identified as Samuel Johnson (20), Jeeva NS (19), Rahul Raj KP (22), Rijiljith C (21) and Vivek NV (21), are second and third-year general nursing students. According to the complaint, the ragging began in November 2023 and escalated to extreme levels of physical and psychological torture, reported On Manorama.

The victims alleged that the seniors stripped them naked, placed dumbbells on their private parts and inflicted injuries using compasses and other sharp objects. The seniors reportedly poured lotion on the wounds and forced the juniors to apply cream on their faces, heads, and mouths. The ragging primarily took place in the men’s hostel, where the victims were subjected to repeated humiliation and violence.

In addition to the physical abuse, the seniors allegedly extorted money from the juniors every Sunday to buy alcohol. The situation reached a breaking point on Monday when one of the juniors was brutally beaten for refusing to pay. This incident prompted the victims to inform their parents, who then advised them to approach the police.

Following the complaint, the college principal suspended the accused students, and the police arrested them under the Prohibition of Ragging Act of 2011, as per a report on PTI. 

Ragging, a long-standing issue in Indian colleges, has been banned for years, but such incidents continue to surface, highlighting the need for stronger preventive measures and awareness campaigns. 

In Tamil Nadu, the murder of a medical student Navarasu nearly 28 years ago paved way to regulate against ragging. The state became the first to ban ragging in educational institutions.