Hyderabad College Ragging: NHRC issues notice to Telangana, education ministry, UGC

NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission has issued notices to the Education Ministry, Telangana government and the University Grants Commission after a college student was allegedly ragged, assaulted and compelled to raise religious slogans.

Taking suo-motu cognisance, the NHRC said on Tuesday that the incident amounted to human rights violations due to the sheer negligence, lack of supervision and inherent failure of the college administration to ensure the safety of the students within its campus.

Also Read | Hyderabad Ragging Case: 8 IFHE students arrested for physically, verbally assaulting student

Eight students of a IFHE, Hyderabad were arrested in connection with the alleged incident of ragging, including a student being beaten up, which assumed a communal colour after a video of it had gone viral. The NHRC sought a report from the chief secretary within six weeks regarding the action taken in the incident and the reasons for the prima facie failure of the institution to take adequate steps to prevent ragging in accordance with the UGC regulation.

"He has also been asked to explain whether the victim has been suspended by the college, and if yes, in what circumstances," the statement said. A notice has also been issued to the Telangana director general of police regarding the status of the criminal case registered against the assailants, and the teaching and non-teaching staff of the college.

Also Read | UG Admission 2022: UGC asks universities to step up anti-ragging measures

"It appears that nothing has improved despite the UGC Regulation on curbing the menace of ragging in higher educational institutions way back in 2009," the NHRC said. It observed that the incident could have been prevented if a slew of measures like regular interaction and counselling of the students to identify an early indication of ragging and holding surprise inspections were implemented.

A notice has also been sent to the Ministry of Education and UGC secretaries to submit reports regarding the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee on the measure of curb ragging.