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7 college students in Tamil Nadu held for stripping, tonsuring junior: Police
Seven students of a private engineering college in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu were arrested for allegedly ragging and assaulting a junior, police said.
Seven students of a private engineering college in Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu were arrested for allegedly ragging and assaulting a junior, police said.
According to police, the victim – an 18-year-old second year student – was stripped, assaulted and his head tonsured by students of third and fifth year (Please check if this is a six-year course).
The incident took place on Monday, when a group of students walked into his hostel room in the college and asked him for money to buy liquor, a police officer aware of the matter said. “When the 18-year-old refused, the seniors picked him up and took him to their room, where they tortured him... they tonsured his head using an electric trimmer and recorded it on their phone to threaten him against sharing the incident with anyone,” the officer added.
The victim told his parents who approached the college and filed a complaint at Peelamedu police station in the district on Tuesday.
The accused were booked under section 4 (penalty for ragging) of the Tamil Nadu Ragging Prohibition Act 1997 and sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) 324 (voluntarily hurt by use of dangerous weapon or means), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 143 (unlawful assembly), 355 (assault or criminal force with intent to dishonour person, otherwise than on grave provocation) and 506(i) (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The college is yet to issue a statement over the incident.
A senior police officer on the condition of anonymity said that the police have evidence of the crime. “We are investigating the incident, but we are withholding some information due to the sensitive nature of the incident. The 18-year-old was harassed throughout the night on Monday,” the officer added.
In October 2021, police arrested four students of a private nursing college for allegedly ragging a first-year student.
