Ragging FIR against 5 students, 2 staff at IITKGP

The police said they had found evidence to support the allegation of ragging against Faizan in February, based on which the FIR had been drawn.

The police have started a suo motu case against five students and two employees of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in connection with a ragging complaint filed by Faizan Ahmed in February 2022, around eight months before the third-year student was found dead in a hostel room in October, The Telegraph reported. 

The police said they had found evidence to support the allegation of ragging against Faizan in February, based on which the FIR had been drawn. 

“Five students and two staff, including a warden, have been charged under Indian Penal Code sections related to voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation, disobedience of order duly promulgated by a public servant, causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information to screen offender and common intention. Also, action has been initiated by Kharagpur Town police station under Section 4 of the West Bengal Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institution Act, 2000,” an officer said. 

The officer said the warden of a hostel was aware of the alleged harassment of Faizan but did not alert the IIT authorities. That, the officer said, was suppression of facts. 

Faizan complained about harassment to warden 

A petition filed by Faizan’s parents says the students had declined to be part of an “assimilation programme” at the Rajendra Pratap Hall of Residence in February and March 2022, which led to the alleged harassment and ragging. 

The assimilation programme, the petition says, was a “glorified term” for “collective ragging”. Faizan was among several students who had complained about the harassment to wardens. 

The superintendent of police, Paschim Medinipur, Dinesh Yadav, said the district police had started a suo motu case, based on which an investigation had been initiated. 

An officer involved in the investigation said the persons named in the FIR would be questioned, “as and when required”. 

“They have already been examined before and will be called again as and when required,” the officer said. 

The Paschim Medinipur police have launched an anti-ragging helpline (7076767575) where incidents of ragging can be reported, an officer said. 

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