In a bid to control the menace of ragging in educational institutions, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), the apex child rights body, has asked the Ministry of Defence to take necessary action.
Acknowledging the increasing incidents of ragging in educational institutions, NCPCR has directed to send a factual report along with authenticated copies of the relevant documents within a stipulated timeframe in the matter , says a press release by the Ministry of Woman and Child Development.
The apex body has taken cognizance of several cases received in the recent past. Children of Sainik School in Jhumri Tilaiya in Koderma district of Jharkhand have been allegedly subjected to ragging by seniors, which provoked one of the victims to attempt suicide.
In another case, Rehan (name changed) attempted suicide after being repeatedly 'ragged' by the seniors in the school.
Surup (name changed), a student of class VII in the school, has been 'ragged' by senior students since his admission. In a recent incident of ragging, the boy was reportedly forced to do 500 push-ups by some older boys. The child now does not want to continue his education in the school and is back to his hometown in Ranchi working in his father's tea-stall.
According to a study by Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education (CURE), the highest number ragging deaths were registered during the academic session 2009-2010. Nineteen cases of death and four cases of attempted suicide allegedly due to ragging were reported.
The year also witnessed a marked increase in the number of ragging incidents involving girls, including four cases of deaths and two cases of attempted suicides by girl students.
