The West Garo Hills (WGH) police are poised to investigate the case of ragging at the NEHU Tura campus following the filing of a ‘Zero’ FIR by the victim in Nagaland, as reported by The Shillong Times.
Providing an update on the case, Superintendent of Police, WGH, Abraham T Sangma, stated that the police would now take up the investigation after the FIR had been lodged in Nagaland.
”I have received an email copy of the FIR, and we are committed to conducting a thorough inquiry. Our goal is to uncover all the details of this incident,” confirmed SP Sangma.
The incident, which took place on the morning of 8 October, involved a student from Nagaland who had just embarked on his academic journey at NEHU, pursuing a degree in Agri Business Management. He allegedly suffered severe abuse at the hands of senior students. These seniors forcibly took him from his dorm room at the Arabella Hostel, attempting to conceal their identities by shining lights in his face.
The victim was pressured to introduce himself in Hindi. Unsatisfied with his proficiency, the seniors demanded that he ‘entertain’ them by performing a ‘naked dance,’ solely based on his Naga ethnicity. As he pleaded for mercy, the victim was threatened and coerced into undressing in front of his tormentors. The victim suspects that the perpetrators may have recorded the incident on their phones.
Following this traumatic experience, the victim promptly left the hostel and returned to his home in Nagaland, where he filed a formal complaint about the incident. The Naga Students’ Union Shillong (NSUS) sent a letter to NEHU’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla, urging immediate action and justice for the victim within 24 hours. The NSUS issued a warning that if the university did not take swift and decisive action, it would call for strikes and boycotts against NEHU.
The Angami Students’ Union has also implored the NEHU authority to immediately take befitting action against the perpetrators and has called upon the State Government of Nagaland to intervene in the matter promptly and ensure the swift delivery of justice.
Joining the condemnation, the NSUI Nagaland stated that the incident has come as a shock, and has created a sense of “distrust and insecurity” on the campus.
”A place of learning must be free from any sort of discrimination and threats that may hamper a student’s career. This unfortunate incident has not only put the future of the student at stake, but it is also a gross violation of humanitarian values,” the NSUI Nagaland stated.
Furthermore, stating that ragging is a crime, the Union strongly called upon the Vice-Chancellor of NEHU to immediately step in and take remedial measures to ensure that such incidents do not happen again on the campus.
”The NSUI is of the strong opinion that the culprits should be immediately identified and apprehended under relevant sections of the law,” it stated, while expressing its deepest sympathy to the victim and his family and assuring that the matter will be pursued until justice is delivered.