Ragging at college in Kerala: student tortured, pierced with compass

Kottayam (Kerala), PTI: Disturbing visuals of the brutal ragging of a junior student at the Government Nursing College here surfaced on Thursday, showing the victim being tied to a cot and his body repeatedly pierced with a compass. According to footage received by the Gandhinagar police, the victim was stripped half-naked and subjected to horrifying acts, including having dumbbells placed on his private parts after being tied to a cot and having facial cream poured into his mouth. Kottayam District Police Chief Shahul Hameed said that police are investigating whether more students were subjected to ragging.

“The case has been registered based on a complaint from one student but we will record statements from others to determine if there are more victims,” he told reporters here. Hameed added that the investigation will also examine whether there were any lapses on the part of the college authorities. The five students arrested on Wednesday in connection with the case are currently in the district jail after being remanded by a court here. The visuals aired by TV channels showed the junior student–lying on the bed with lotion all over his body and his hands and legs tied with a rope–screaming in pain, unable to move while his body was repeatedly pierced with the compass.

The senior students pierced various parts of his body with the compass, counting aloud, “one, two, three”. As the victim screamed in pain, the accused mocked him, taunting and insulting him by calling him a “sexy body”. The video recorded by third-year students captured this brutal act of ragging, police said.