Mangaluru (Karnataka), Sep 25 (IANS): Nine senior students of a private college in Pandeshwar in coastal city of Mangaluru have been booked for allegedly kidnapping, stripping and brutally assaulting two first-year students in a suspected ragging incident, police said on Friday.
The victims are first-year BBA Port Shipping Logistics students at Srinivas University, Pandeshwar. Both are from Kerala.
Based on a complaint filed by Ameer Ali, Mangaluru South police registered a case against nine senior students identified as Naseed Ameer, Adil M, Ashrak, Anish, Uvais, Rohan Ramesh, Adil V.P, Rehan M.P and Shinas.
According to the complaint, the incident took place on August 19 between 3.19 p.m. and 6 p.m. The victims were allegedly walking outside the college when the accused seniors forcibly dragged them, made them get onto a motorcycle and took them to a room in a house.
The accused allegedly forced the two students to remove their clothes and remain in their underwear. When the victims cried for help, the accused reportedly covered their mouths and assaulted them.
The complaint states that Naseed Ameer allegedly beat the victims with a belt, while Adil M assaulted them with a clothes hanger. The other accused allegedly attacked them with their hands.
The assault allegedly turned more violent when Rehan M.P. attacked the victims with an iron knuckleduster. He allegedly aimed blows at Ameer Ali’s head and neck. When Alfaz attempted to intervene, Rehan allegedly targeted his forehead. The victims reportedly managed to evade the blows but sustained grazing injuries to their heads and shoulders.
The complaint alleged that the blows could have caused fatal injuries had they landed directly. Meanwhile, Ashrak allegedly recorded the incident on his mobile phone.
When the victims asked for water after being assaulted, Rohan Ramesh allegedly brought contaminated water and poured it over them after they refused to drink it.
The complaint further alleged that Uvais threatened the victims with death and warned that they would be chopped into pieces with a knife inside the college if they informed the police about the incident.
The two students were allegedly kept captive and subjected to physical assault until around 6 p.m.
Following the incident, Naseed Ameer allegedly continued to harass the victims on the college campus and ordered them to attend classes clean-shaven and without shoes.
The victims reportedly delayed approaching the police due to fear of the threats. They later informed their families and approached the police on September 23.
Mangaluru South police have registered a case under Sections 140(3), 127(2), 115(2), 118(1), 351(2), 109 and 190 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, along with Section 116 of the Karnataka Education Act, 1983.
Police have taken up further investigation into the allegations.
