Kerala student tries to kill self over alleged ragging, calls senior students ‘animals’ in FB post

He is a first-year engineering student at CUSAT.
Kerala student tries to kill self over alleged ragging, calls senior students ‘animals’ in FB post
Kerala student tries to kill self over alleged ragging, calls senior students ‘animals’ in FB post
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An 18-year-old college student in Kerala attempted to kill himself on Tuesday night, purportedly over ragging in college.

Ashish Thampan, a first-year student of Marine Engineering at Cochin University of Science and Technology and a resident of Trikkaripur in Kasargod, reportedly consumed poison after returning home on Tuesday.

He has since been admitted to a hospital in Mangaluru.

In a Facebook post on the same day, Ashish alleged that some “animals” at the college had caused him mental and physical trauma and went on to name a few students who “destroyed his life”.

He wrote that he had joined the course with the intention of doing well in studies. Ashish went on to name five students who had allegedly harassed him and wrote that he was unaware of the names of many others. He also thanked a few professors in his post written in Malayalam, though it is unclear as to why they were mentioned.

When The News Minute reached out to Chandera police in Kasargod district, a Sub-Inspector said that they were unable to record Ashish’s statement on Wednesday.

“He was merely rambling when we tried to speak to him. So we had to return without recording his statement. However, the doctors told us that his condition was not critical. We have not received any complaint from the boy’s parents,” the police officer said.

Praveen, a teacher at the coaching centre Ashish used to go to, said that Ashish had in the past been subjected to ragging by some of the senior students. 
 
‪"At the hostel, they used to force him to drink alcohol and beat him up when he refused to listen to them. Four months ago, when he had just joined the college, he had to be given medical treatment after he was beaten up by the senior students. At the time, he refused to complain against them to the college officials, fearing they would cause him harm," Praveen said.

According to media reports, Ashish’s father PV Thampan has written to the Chief Minister demanding action against the abettors. 

Director of Marine Engineering department of CUSAT told TNM that no instance of ragging had been reported to the authorities.

“Taking note of the incident, we have reported it to the university registrar, who is expected to report the same to the police. Meanwhile, we have initiated an enquiry over the allegations Ashish has raised,” he said.

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