In dire pockets for a shot at carrom

For Sheldon Pereira, 20, it was baptism by fire at the St Xavier’s Technical Institute in Mahim. Within days of joining college, a senior thrashed him outside the canteen after he expressed a desire to play carrom in the common room for boys. Pereira started getting threatening calls after he complained to the principal. His family is so traumatised after the incident that Pereira has stopped attending college for the past week and did not even appear for his exam on Monday.

The incident took place on September 14. “I reached college very early that day. My friends and I were thinking of killing time by playing carrom in the common room for boys. A senior student, Bradely Dennis, who was present during the discussion, said he would not like if a fresher played carrom. I found it weird and asked him why he felt that way. The discussion ended on a casual note,” said Pereira, a resident of Behram Baug in Jogeshwari.

What followed left Pereira stunned. “During lunch hour (around 1.30pm), Dennis along with two-three boys accosted me outside the canteen and started beating me. They kept saying I was acting smart in the morning,” Pereira told DNA.

He later complained to the head of department and filed a non-cognisable case (NC) with the Mahim police station.

“After the incident was reported to me, I accompanied Pereira to all the classes and asked him to identify the students who allegedly beat him. But he did not point at anyone. The boy should speak up for us to take any action. There is no clarity over the incident,” said  Dr Vijay Rathod, head of electronics department at St Xavier’s. Principal Dr Shivraj Ghungrad said he has called all the students involved in the incident along with their parents to college on Tuesday. “Appropriate action will be taken after hearing everyone’s version,” he said.

Pereira is a first-year diploma student of electronics. He joined the institute on August 16 after clearing his HSC. Dennis is a third-year student of the same stream.

In his NC, Pereira said he has been receiving threatening calls from three different numbers. The Pereira family is very scared and has sought help from Meraz Shaikh of the Yuva Sena. He helped him file the NC.

Pereira’s mother Maria said he was scared to take the names of the boys who hit him since they threatened him with dire consequences. “Filing a complaint with the head of department resulted in him getting threats. The college authorities can take care of him inside the campus, but what if these boys catch hold of him somewhere out?” she said.

Ragging incidents in Mumbai are rare, but when they occur, they are a cause of concern.  Recently Raheja college students were suspended by the institute for ragging freshers. After being ragged, the freshers complained to the college authorities. The seniors later took revenge in a local train. The Ground Railway Police investigated the case following which six students were suspended.