Bihar minister's son was being harassed at hostel: police

Police in Gwalior on Saturday said Adarsh Kumar, son of Bihar Cooperatives Minister Jai Kumar Singh, apparently tried to kill himself following alleged harassment by three senior boys at the prestigious Scindia School.

Police recorded the statements of three senior boys of the school and "after recording the statements of three senior boys who belong to influential families, we found out that Adarsh made attempt to commit suicide as the trio used to harass him by asking him to do menial jobs," Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Yusuf Qureshi said.

Police have seized a bed-sheet and a ceiling fan in the veranda in front of Adarsh's hostel room. He allegedly tried to hang himself from the fan using the sheet but his feet touched the floor and the fan got unstuck from ceiling, which saved his life, Qureshi said.

The trio allegedly forced him to sweep the floor and to stand in `hen's position' sometimes. They also allegedly beat him up sometimes, police said.

Gwalior District Collector and Senior Superintendent of Police have ordered separate probes.

Fourteen-year-old Adarsh was found in a semi-conscious state in his room on August 20. He was taken to a private hospital for treatment and when his condition deteriorated, he was shifted to New Delhi's Apollo Hospital.

Taking serious cognisance of the matter, District Collector P Narhari ordered a probe to be conducted by Sub Divisional Magistrate S Saxena.

SSP Santosh Kumar Singh also ordered ASP Qureshi to separately conduct an inquiry, especially into the ragging aspect.

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi had talked to his Madhya Pradesh counterpart Shivraj Singh Chauhan regarding the ragging case.