Five students arrested in ragging case at college in Mangaluru

MANGALURU: Police arrested five students after an alleged ragging incident came to light at a private college in Mangaluru on Wednesday. Senior students were accused of "harassing" first-year students both on and off the campus.

Acting on complaints lodged by two first-year students, police arrested the five accused under relevant anti-ragging provisions and launched an investigation. Mangaluru City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy said that since the affected persons had sustained injuries, additional charges relating to assault would also be invoked.

According to the complainants, a group of senior students allegedly assaulted them near a tea shop close to Gujerekere Tank in the Jeppu area and forced them to remove their footwear, obey their instructions and submit to other coercive acts.

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College Ragging: 'Stripped and abused'

The complaint alleged the accused had earlier called freshers to their rented rooms and subjected them to humiliating treatment, forcing them to strip to their undergarments, perform degrading acts and abuse them verbally.

They alleged that those who failed to comply with the seniors' summons were assaulted and threatened. Police said two first-year students have so far come forward with detailed complaints, while several others are believed to have remained silent out of fear despite allegedly facing similar harassment.

Following the complaints, Pandeshwar police visited the college and registered a case. Police said the complaint names six accused. Five have been arrested, while efforts are under way to trace the sixth accused.