New Delhi, Nov 15 (Agency) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday issued notices to the Telangana government, the Union Education Ministry and UGC over an alleged incident of ragging and assault at a Hyderabad college. The Commission issued the notice to Chief Secretary of Telangana calling for a report within six weeks on the matter. It should include an action taken report, along with the reasons for the prima facie failure of the institution to take adequate steps to prevent ragging in accordance with the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulation, and the steps taken or proposed to be taken to punish the perpetrators of the incident of ragging, its abettors and sympathizers by attracting punitive action under the UGC Act, the NHRC said in a statement. The Commission took suo motu cognizance of media reports that a first year student of BBA LLB at IBS College hostel in Shankarpally, Hyderabad, was allegedly ragged, brutally assaulted and compelled to raise religious slogans by a group of students on November 1, the statement stated.
Reportedly, the victim approached the college management but they did not react promptly. A case was registered by the police only on November 11, on a complaint by e-mail sent by the victim, it added. The Commission observed that the contents of the media reports, if true, amount to human rights violations of the victim due to sheer negligence, lack of supervision and inherent failure of the college administration to ensure the safety and security of each and every student within the campus of IBS College, it added. A notice was also issued to the Director General of Police, Telangana, regarding the status of the criminal case registered against all the assailants and teaching and non-teaching staff of the college concerned as reported in the news report. Besides notice was sent to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Education as well as the Secretary, UGC to submit reports regarding the effective implementation of the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee on “The Menace of Ragging in Educational Institutions and Measures to curb it” and affirmed by the Supreme Court for educational institutions across the country, it added.