The family of Aman Kachru has alleged that he was ragged severely for the last several months and the college authorities tried to shield the accused after his death.
“My son had been showing signs of depression over the last 2-3 months. He told us he was not comfortable with the atmosphere in his college because of sustained ragging by seniors. When he last visited us, his head was shaved. But we tried to convince him that ragging was a common problem in colleges. It was a mistake — we could have sensed the gravity of the ragging and not let him go back,” said Dr Rajendra Kachru, father of Aman.
Aman had last visited home in February to celebrate his birthday. He turned 19 on February 8, and returned to college on February 18.
He was a student of Dr Rajendra Prasad College, Tanda in Himachal Pradesh. He died on Sunday night after alleged violent ragging by seniors.
Dr Kachru said Aman had called him up on Sunday evening, just 20 minutes before he collapsed. The father was then in Tanzania, where he is visiting faculty at Dar es Salaam University. He returned to his Sector 23, Gurgaon residence on Tuesday morning.
Aman’s elder sister, an engineering student of Ansal Institute of Technology, Gurgaon, is in Texas on a study trip and the family is awaiting her return.
“On Sunday evening, Aman informed me that he had been brutally beaten up by four senior students and he was injured, but he did not say he was being rushed to hospital, probably not to worry me and my wife Priya. Just 20 minutes later, one of his classmates called up my wife to say Aman had died. He was a victim of regular and undeterred criminal ragging that would include physical bashing,” Kachru said.
College did a cover-upKachru claimed Aman’s body bore injury marks all over and the post-mortem report also stated that he had succumbed to injuries.
{{/usCountry}}College did a cover-upKachru claimed Aman’s body bore injury marks all over and the post-mortem report also stated that he had succumbed to injuries.
{{/usCountry}}Indira Dhar, Kachru’s sister, had rushed to Tanda along with her husband after coming to know of Aman’s death. She alleged that the college authorities not only acted irresponsibly but also tried to pass off Aman’s death as suicide.
“Only when we protested and the police intervened did the college authorities talk about taking action against the erring senior students.”
Sanjay Sapru, a cousin of Aman, alleged that the four accused had political connections.
Dr Kachru said he would launch a campaign against ragging to make people aware of its repercussions on the students and their career.