4 accused of Aman's ragging death get bail

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DHARAMSHALA: A year-and-a-half after MBBS fresher Aman Kachroo (19) was clobbered to death by his seniors in the name of ragging, the four students arrested and charged with culpable homicide were granted bail by a fast-track court here on Saturday. Aman's death had led to widespread outrage in the country against the menace of ragging. While four senior students of Tanda Medical College in Kangra (where the incident took place), Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, were charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the principal, Suresh Sankhayan, was suspended for failing to take action on Aman's repeated complaints of intense and brutal ragging.

Justice Purinder Vaidya issued bail orders after recording the statements of the witnesses and taking material evidence into account. There were 71 witnesses in the case. The accused also had to furnish personal bonds of Rs 50,000 each.

Reacting to the bail, Aman's father, Rajendra Kachroo, who spearheaded the countrywide 'Aman Movement' against the meance of ragging in educational institutions, said the campaign would receive a setback. Aman had complained to his parents as well about his ragging, mostly by seniors who were usually drunk. He had also reported the matter to the college authorities several times, but they did not take any action.

Following Aman's senseless death, the Himachal government passed the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009, in August last year, which states that students involved in ragging would not only be expelled and be ineligible for admission to any other institution for three years, but also jailed and fined up to Rs 50,000.

The Aman Movement released a statement on Sunday, reacting to the bail, saying, "We have always maintained that this is a matter between the state and the accused but we are highly disappointed with this decision. It is not that we are driven by a desire for revenge, but because it conveys a wrong message -- of business as usual.

Since March last year, 12 more students have died and thousands have suffered humiliation and torture. The Anti-Ragging Call Centre received 1.5 lakh telephone calls in six months. Some 350 serious cases of abuse were recorded in the same period, but not one was followed to its logical conclusion. Last year, the Supreme Court passed an order asking the government to execute a proper plan, ready for implementation. But Mr Agarwal, who was the Secretary of MHRD at the time, did not think it necessary. So nothing happened. The token gesture of a call centre also failed. Doesn't the order of the Supreme Court have any value in our country?"

Source: Times of India