A viral video on the internet exposed another brutal face of the city of joy, Kolkata, which is vividly known for its art, culture and student politics. The video clip showed a student of a renowned college of Kolkata, St. Paul's Cathedral College, pleading for mercy while he was forced to strip in front of a group of people.
The West Bengal government swung into action after the incident went viral on social media. Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said "strict action" will be initiated against those people who will be found guilty.
Chatterjee also said that the student has lodged a written complaint and adequate legal action will be taken against all the accused. "If the allegations were found to be true in the inquiry report of the college, the government will show 'zero tolerance' to such misconduct," the education minister affirmed.
The initial reports suggest that the victim is an active member of the students' union backed by Trinamool Congress. The first-year student was tortured by some of the senior members of the students' wing on May 17 when he raised questions on the budget finalised for the upcoming college fest.
The president of Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP), Jaya Dutta, said that before issuing any statement she would like to have a discussion with the members of the North Kolkata unit. Chatterjee said that necessary punitive action will be taken against the students found guilty.
A recent report had revealed that the anti-ragging helpline had received maximum calls in 2017. The report also indicated a steep rise in ragging related incidents across India. Most of the cases pour in from states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra. Technical and medical institutes are the cradles of ragging related incidents, believe experts.
The lack of awareness, the absence of proper and stronger anti-ragging infrastructure is snowballing ragging in these states, said an expert. The UGC was the first to issue guidelines in 2009 followed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Medical Council of India (MCI).
