A distressing incident of ragging at PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore has come to light through a First Information Report (FIR), revealing harrowing details of the victim’s ordeal. The victim, a second-year undergraduate student in a government-aided institution, was reportedly locked up in a room for approximately five hours by eight fellow students in the college hostel.
The incident occurred on November 6 when the eight students entered the victim’s room around 11.30 p.m., berating him for allegedly not contributing money to seniors for purchasing alcohol. Subsequently, they forcibly took him to room 401 on the fourth floor of the hostel, locking the door from inside.
Inside the confined space, the perpetrators allegedly subjected the victim to physical assault, taking turns to beat him. A belt was also used in the assault, despite the victim’s pleas for mercy, as detailed in the FIR filed by the police.
The FIR identifies Ram Santhosh, 22, of Alanganallur as the first accused, who initiated the assault by shouting “start music.” Other students joined in, jeering and restraining the victim. Another accused, Venkatesh, used a trimmer to cut the victim’s hair from behind, while Santhosh trimmed from the front, with the others cheering on.
Around 5.30 a.m. the next day, B. Naveen, alias Yashish, 22, of Namakkal, allegedly remarked that the victim looked “handsome” with the trimmed hair and instructed him to leave the room. However, Santhosh and Venkatesh purportedly compelled the victim to kneel down and clean the trimmed hair before departing, threatening further harm if he disclosed the incident.
Upon emerging from the room, the victim was consoled by two students waiting outside. However, when they attempted to accompany him to his room, Santhosh and Venkatesh reportedly warned them of similar consequences if they refused to provide money.
The victim later confided in his parents in Tiruppur, who promptly came to Coimbatore and took him to the Peelamedu station to file a complaint. Subsequently, G. Dharanitharan, B. Ayyappan, P. Nithyanadarajan, S. Manikandan, Mohammed Dilfer Sha, Ram Santhosh, and B. Naveen were arrested on Wednesday. The police are actively pursuing Venkatesh.
The accused students face charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including unlawful assembly, obscene acts, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful confinement, assault with intent to dishonor, criminal intimidation, and under Section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1997.