5, including 2 juvenile students of Odisha govt college charged with Pocso

Odisha has always remained in the top-five states when it comes to ragging as per the anti-ragging helpline of the University Grants Commission (UGC)

Published on: Nov 17, 2022, 20:19:46 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Five students, including two juveniles of Binayak Acharya college, a government institute in Odisha’s Berhampur town, were charged with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Thursday for allegedly forcing and harassing a minor girl student, police said.

Amidst the incident, the college authorities rusticated the 12 students, including five girls (Representative Image)

According to the police, the senior students allegedly kissed and forced the minor girl and also made a video. After the video went viral, a probe was conducted which led to the identification of the 12 students involved, said police.

Amidst the incident, the college authorities rusticated the 12 students, including five girls, for their alleged abetment of ragging.

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“We have rusticated the 12 students mentioning their character as ‘bad’ in the transfer certificate. We have specifically mentioned that they were involved in ragging,” said Pramila Khadanga, college principal.

“After the identification of 12 students in the video, we charged five of them, including two juveniles with Pocso Act, for their role in the incident. The video was very disturbing and we wanted to send a strong signal to those who rag their juniors,” said Berhampur SP Vivek Saravana.

“The rusticated students will have to pay heavily for their actions. They will face problems in getting government jobs and drawing passports in their names,” said SP Saravana said.

Moreover, police said five girls who encouraged the boys may also be charged under Pocso after consultation with legal experts.

Odisha has always remained in the top-five states when it comes to ragging as per the anti-ragging helpline of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

After two college students in Odisha killed themselves for being ragged by seniors in April and July this year, the state government directed the principals and vice-chancellors of all the institutions to file FIR with the local police against any such incidents.

The educational institutions were also asked to take action against the students found guilty of ragging or abetment of ragging without waiting for the outcome of the police investigation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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