Death of 19-yr-old student: UGC fact-finding committee visits college in Dharamshala

The five-member panel, led by professor Raj Kumar Mittal of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, visited the campus and began the probe

The fact-finding committee formed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) to probe the death of 19-year-old girl of a Dharamshala college on December 26 arrived in the town on Tuesday and visited the institute.

On Monday, a three-member probe panel formed by the state education department visited the college to talk with students and teachers and also collected records from the police. (File)

The fact-finding committee met the college principal and staff members. The panel will continue the probe for the next 2-3 days and will meet various stakeholders.

The five-member panel, led by professor Raj Kumar Mittal of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi, visited the campus and began the probe. The other members of the panel include professor Sushma Yadav, former commission member of UGC; Dr Neerja Gupta, vice-chancellor, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad; professor P Prakash Babu, V-C, Pondicherry University; and Dr Sunita Siwach, UGC joint secretary.

The statement of victim’s father was recorded on Tuesday in front of the judicial magistrate.

On Monday, a three-member probe panel formed by the state education department visited the college to talk with students and teachers and also collected records from the police. The four-member committee, headed by the additional director of education, has three principals as its members and has been asked to submit its report within three days to the education secretary. Officials said that the four-member panel talked to students and teachers about the matter. The committee also collected records from the police.

On January 1, based on a complaint filed by the victim’s father, three students of the government college in Dharamshala were booked on charges of ragging while a professor was booked for sexual harassment. The father alleged that the accused “harassed and levelled casteist remarks” at his daughter, even as college authorities maintained that no ragging or sexual harassment complaint was submitted before her death.

The UGC had also taken cognisance of the matter and formed a fact-finding committee. The panel has been asked to submit a detailed report to the UGC within seven days. The committee is tasked with reviewing the implementation of key UGC regulations, including those related to curbing ragging, prevention of sexual harassment, promotion of equity, and student grievance redressal. The panel will also examine the circumstances surrounding the incident, including the availability and effectiveness of institutional policies, grievance redressal mechanisms, anti-harassment measures, and student support system.

According to a statement released by the police on Thursday, “On September 18, 2025, three girls from the college had beaten and intimidated the victim and the college professor used to sexually harass her. Following these reasons, the victim was scared and became unwell. She was treated at different hospitals and on December 26, 2025, the victim died while undergoing treatment at DMC, Ludhiana.”

The Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes Commission on Friday had sought a report on the death of the 19-year-old girl.