A two-member committee constituted by the Rajiv Gandhi University has claimed that the victim of alleged ragging in a Kalaburgi nursing college had attempted suicide.
The committee set up to inquire into the alleged ragging of Ashwathy (19) at Al Qamar College of Nursing in Kalaburgi submitted its preliminary report to the university on Tuesday. The report said Ashwathy, a Dalit girl, attempted suicide due to family problems and not because of alleged ragging by seniors.
After the incident came to light, college principal Esther had said that Ashwathy was not ragged by her seniors, but had attempted suicide.
The report has come in for criticism as the panel has only recorded the statements of the management, including the principal and staff, besides those of other students. The committee did not record the statements of the victim, her family or her roommates.
Asked about giving a clean chit to the college based on the college management’s version, KS Ravindranath, Vice Chancellor of RGUHS, said that the Kalaburgi police was investigating the case and reiterated that the committee report was based on preliminary inquiry conducted a week ago.
A native of Malappuram district in Kerala, Ashwathy had alleged that she was forcefully made to drink toilet cleaning liquid phenyl on May 9, following which, she has been undergoing treatment in hospitals in Karnataka and Kerala.