Ragging rears its ugly head at Bishop Cotton

 This time it’s Bishop Cotton School, Shimla. Two standard IX students left the school on Monday after they were “persistently bullied and assaulted” by seniors.

The incident comes close on the heels of the ragging at Lawrence School, Sanawar, early this month. Seven students were rusticated after they caused grievous injuries to 11 juniors in the name of ragging.

One of the two Bishop students, Avtar Singh, was admitted to a private nursing home in Jalandhar  with intestinal injuries. His father, Surjit Singh, said the matter was reported to headmaster Roy Christopher Robinson, who apparently took no action against the errant students.

The other student, Akaashdeep, an NRI, left the school following “persistent and intolerable” physical and mental torture by seniors. Akaashdeep’s father Kuldeep Singh, who is settled in the US, said he would visit India in a few days.

He said his son had expressed reservations about going back to Bishop Cotton when he visited them in the UK during winter vacation. “It was after a lot of persuasion that we sent him back,” he said. Kuldeep said he had informed Robinson about the torture his son was being subjected to.

Robinson conceded there was a scuffle among some students on Monday. He said a disciplinary committee had been constituted to probe the incident and those found guilty of terrorising juniors would not be spared.