Alleged suicide by ragging accused leads to protests

Indore, Sep 23 (UNI) Students took to the streets in Madhya Pradesh's commercial capital today alleging that harassment meted out by a college principal over a ragging incident led to a student's suicide.

The ABVP blocked a road in front of the Holkar Science College in the wake of Thursday's alleged suicide by a BSc final year student Ashok Chaudhry who, along with two others, had been handed over to police by Principal N K Dhakad after allegedly indulging in ragging on Wednesday.

The Parishad was demanding the Principal's suspension, stern action against the ''errant'' police personnel, registering a case againt the Youth Congress (YC) that was allegedly ''responsible for the circumstances'' leading to the suicide, ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh each from the university fund and a like amount from the government.

The four-hour-long blockade was lifted after Collector Vivek Agrawal and SP Anshuman Yadav assured a magisterial inquiry and recommended that the Principal be either asked to proceed on leave or be transferred until the probe was completed.

Chaudhry, who hailed from Mandsaur, and the others were detained on September 20 until nightfall before being released on the Principal's intervention. Chaudhry went missing the very next day and his corpse, severed by a train, was identified last night by relatives.

''I intervened and asked the police to free the trio as there was no written complaint of ragging and I was concerned over the students' future,'' said Mr Dhakad.

The Youth Congress staged demonstrations yesterday at the college and the police station over the release of the trio. Chaudhry's friends and the two other previously-detained students said Chaudhry could never indulge in ragging and he committed suicide as he was tormented by the sequence of events. However, no suicide note was found.

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