The HP government ordered a probe into Monday’s alleged ragging incident at Sanawar’s Lawrence School where seven students were sent back home for beating up juniors.
The Himachal Pradesh government ordered a probe on Sunday into Monday’s alleged ragging incident at Sanawar’s Lawrence School where seven students were sent back home for beating up juniors so badly that six of them had their ears perforated.
Chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal has asked the Solan district administration to inquire into the incident and send a report. “Prima facie, it does not seem to be a case of ragging. It is just a clash among students,” he said. Even the school headmaster, Praveen Vashist, denied ragging, saying it was an incident of “manhandling”.
The incident comes close just two months after medical student Aman Kachru died due to ragging by seniors at a college in Tanda.
No police complaint has been lodged in the school incident so far, Solan SP SPS Verma said. He and sub-divisional magistrate Vivek Chandel had visited the school on Sunday.
Standard XII students of the school allegedly ragged around 10 to 15 standard XI students on Monday for not cheering them during a basketball match. Seven students were punished and sent home for “manhandling” their juniors.
After coming to know of the incident on Monday night, the school headmaster said he constituted a three-member committee and on its recommendation sent the seven seniors back home on Friday. Vashist said he was against taking back the seven students, but said the school board “was free to further think about the issue” whenever it meets.
Parents of the abused students, who staged a protest at the school on Saturday, alleged that the seniors attacked the victims with wet leather belts, rods and sticks. “My son’s eardrums are perforated,” said Haleena Bajwa. Shalu Gupta said that her son had “scars” in his back, hips and legs. “He is traumatised.”
The seven accused belonged to Delhi, Chandigarh and Punjab. “They are out as far as I am concerned. This is a very considered and thought-out decision,” the headmaster said.
Vashist had earlier told reporters that the matter was not reported to the police because the school did not want to ruin the career of the students. Vashist said the victims had suffered “serious injuries” but there were no fractures. “They had got ear injuries and there were marks on their bodies.”
Lawrence school is popular with the rich and famous of the country and its alumni include Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Obdullah, Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt.
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