Times
of India: New Delhi: Saturday, 30 May 2015.
Of 1,183
cases of ragging reported to the University Grants Commission (UGC) from
universities and colleges in 2013 and 2014 from across the country, the police
filed an FIR in 66 cases. The highest number of cases were reported from Uttar
Pradesh for three years in a row, from 2012 to 2014.
In the
absence of more detailed data on the complaints it was not possible to
determine if UP has the highest number because of greater prevalence of ragging
or being the most populous state, it has a larger student population compared
to other states.
In 2013, the
highest number of complaints were from Biju Patnaik University in Odisha and
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. In
2014 the highest number of complaints were from Aryabhatta Knowledge University
and Gaya College of Engineering, both in Patna, Bihar.
The data on
ragging was revealed in a reply given by UGC to an RTI application filed by a
student of the School of Law in KIIT University, Odisha, Rohit Kumar. "I
had sought the information in December 2014 and I got a response only in May
2015. Such delay in replying is a contravention of the RTI law. I had applied
through the online RTI portal on December 12 through email but the UGC office
claims that it received my application only on April 30, 2015. Is an email
delivered in 5 months?" asked Rohit.
According to
the RTI reply, UGC received 640 complaints in 2013 and 543 in 2014 and an FIR
was filed in nine cases in 2013 and in 57 cases in 2014. Rajendra Kachroo,
father of ragging victim Aman Kachroo felt it was not necessary to file an FIR
in all cases. "If the university authorities can resolve the matter by
punishing the guilty students with suspension or such measures, that is good
enough. An FIR will just mean that the matter drags on. But in the small
percentage of cases that are not settled, the UGC ought to intervene and
exercise its authority over the colleges, which it does not do," said
Kachroo. He added that a large number of complaints coming in from UP and Bihar
could be because there was a lot of violence and lawlessness in the colleges.
A TOI report
in September 2014 based on data from the National Anti-Ragging Helpline
(1800-180-522) revealed that between June 2009 and September 4, 2014, there
were 509 complaints of ragging from Uttar Pradesh, the highest, followed by
West Bengal with 341 complaints. Other states with high number of complaints in
the same period included Orissa (266), Madhya Pradesh (263), Maharashtra (150),
Tamil Nadu (143), Rajasthan (142) and Bihar (132). Delhi had reported only 57
cases.
"The
worst scenario is in the medical colleges. Despite there being just about 400
colleges, they are not able to stop ragging in these institutions. The Medical
Council of India which regulates medical colleges has no interest in the issue
and has done nothing about this problem so far," said Kachroo.
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