India: 54 students suspended for ragging juniors in state-run university

Authorities in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh have suspended 54 students of a government university on charges of ragging juniors.

"The students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies in the state's Krishna district have been suspended after a probe revealed that they ragged juniors on the campus on Aug. 29," a senior education official said Tuesday.

The probe was initiated by the university after some of the junior students had to be hospitalized following the incident, he added.

Ragging is a form of physical abuse often meted out to college newcomers.

Under Indian laws, ragging is banned in educational institutions and the Supreme Court has also made heads accountable for any instances.

All academic institutions take written undertaking from students during admission that they will not indulge in ragging. But physical abuse of junior students continue across campuses with a majority of the victims choosing to remain silent.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)