Dead teen’s kin file case against dean, students

Two days after a 19-year-old B. Tech student from Ranchi fell from his hostel building at SRM University NCR-campus, Modi Nagar in mysterious circumstances and died, his family members have implicated college dean Manoj Kumar Pandey and five other senior students in the case. Peeyush Khandelwal reports.

Two days after a 19-year-old B. Tech student from Ranchi fell from his hostel building at SRM University NCR-campus, Modi Nagar in mysterious circumstances and died, his family members have implicated college dean Manoj Kumar Pandey and five other senior students in the case.

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A First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by the victim’s father Jaykant Sahai at Niwari police station late on Tuesday night and a case of murder, ragging and criminal conspiracy lodged, police said.

The case was registered under sections 302 (murder), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy), 147 (punishment for rioting) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Ragging Act, police said.

SRM University officials still maintain that the incident and the circumstances in which the victim — Abhishek Sahai — fell from the fourth-floor of the under-construction hostel building, was accidental and not a result of ragging.

Sahai however said the incident was a clear case of murder and the outcome of a ragging incident and conspiracy.

“My child has been murdered as ragging was continuously going on in the college premises. The senior students were allowed to move inside the hostel compound of first year students,” Sahai said.

The family plans to approach the University Grants Commission, the All-India Council for Technical Education and the UP Chief Minister’s office and demand cancellation of the college’s affiliation.