A shocking case of brutal ragging has come to light at a private higher education institution in the Pipili police station area, leaving parents and the local community in utter dismay.
A second-year student was allegedly locked inside the college toilet for nearly two hours, mercilessly beaten, his face forcibly pushed into the toilet pan, made to lick the floor, and threatened with dire consequences unless he paid Rs 2 lakh and consumed drugs.
According to the written complaint lodged by the victim’s parents at Pipili Police Station, the incident occurred on 24 November. While attending class, the victim was called by a classmate and a senior student, taken to the second-floor toilet, stripped partially, and subjected to inhuman torture. The assailants allegedly beat him on his chest, stomach, back, and knees. When the housekeeping staff member arrived, they failed to fully strip him.
Earlier, the same accused had lured the victim outside the college under the pretext of a treat through one of their female friends, and demanded Rs 2 lakh, threatening to file a false molestation case against the girl if he refused.
Terrified after the toilet incident, the student, who hails from Aali in Kendrapara district, stopped attending college and returned home last Sunday. He narrated the ordeal to his family. The parents immediately emailed the college authorities. Instead of taking strict action against the perpetrators, the college administration reportedly called the victim and his family and advised them to treat the entire episode as “child’s play” and settle it through compromise. Disillusioned by the college’s attitude and fearing for their son’s life, the parents approached the police.
Today, Pipili Police conducted the medical examination of the victim and, in the evening, IIC Soumyendu Sekhar Tripathy along with his team visited the college for investigation. A case no 756/25 has been registered in this regard.
The incident has once again exposed the failure of anti-ragging mechanisms in many educational institutions of Odisha and raised serious questions about student safety.
