9 students suspended from NIT Agartala

Agartala, Nov 10: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) today suspended nine students of the Bachelor of Engineering second and third year for their involvement in ragging in the college campus.

According to report, six second year students were hospitalised on Friday after they were assaulted by their third year counterparts. Later, the state government sought a report from the college authorities and asked to take stringent action against the perpetrators.

A group of third year students had been misbehaving with their juniors by making lewd comments, harassing the girls and assaulting them and indulging in gambling and drinking activites in the campus premises, a guardian of one of the injured students said.

''Since Wednesday, they have been threatening their juniors not to wear jeans, but some students defied them because the college does not have a dress code. On Friday, the troublemakers assaulted two second year students and when they filed a formal complaint with the principal, they were severely beaten up,'' he said.

Following the incident, NIT authorities suspended nine students, including five of BE second year, for indulging in ragging in the campus and constituted a committee to investigate the matter, NIT In-Charge Director Prof Soruj Das said, adding the authorities would deal with the issue in an appropriate manner.

Meanwhile, students in the Central government-run College of Fisheries continued their boycott of classes for the 17th day in a row demanding removal of Assistant Professor Subhashis Bagchi, who they alleged, was torturing them physically and mentally.

This has been the second instance of class-boycott in the institution within a month. Earlier, the students had joined classes after 15 days non-attendance on October 4 with the assurance that Mr Bagchi would be transferred. However, the students' demands were not met and they threatened to boycott classes for indefinite period.

In September, the college had suspended Professor M C Nandeesha which had also evoked sharp reaction from the students.

UNI