Sanawar beatings to be probed

The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the alleged ragging at the elite Lawrence School, Sanawar, where seven students were sent back home for brutally beating up juniors.

The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the alleged ragging at the elite Lawrence School, Sanawar, where seven students were sent back home for brutally beating up juniors.

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The violence took place barely two months after the death of medical student Aman Kachroo due to ragging in Tanda sparked a national outrage.

Nine students of Lawrence School sustained injuries to their ears and other parts of the body in the violence last week.

They were thrashed by their seniors from class XII for not cheering during them during a basketball match on the campus, school sources said.

The abused students’ parents, who held a protest at the school on Saturday, claimed that their wards were beaten with rods and hockey sticks and whipped with leather belts. Six of the victims’ eardrums were perforated as a result of the beating, the sources said.

Confirming the probe order, Solan Deputy Commissioner Amandeep Garg said preliminary findings revealed that the injuries were not caused by ragging but in a clash between two groups of students over some old rivalry.