Trigger warning: Mentions of violence
The Kerala police have booked five nursing students allegedly in connection with an alleged case of ragging at the Government College of Nursing in Kottayam. The accused, who are second and third year students, were arrested following a complaint lodged by three first year students. The complaint alleged the accused—identified as second year students Samuel Johnson (20) and Jeeva NS (18), and third year students Rahul Raj (22), Vivek NV(21), and Rijil Jith (20)—physically harassed the first year students over a period of three months.
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the first incident occurred in November 2024 and the harassment continued until February. It is alleged that the accused initially threatened the juniors and extorted money from them, and assaulted several of them when they refused to give money. In one instance, the accused are claimed to have held a knife to threaten a junior, accusing him of not showing proper respect to seniors. The accused is also alleged to have tied up the hands and legs of one of the complainants before stabbing his body with a divider, while forcing the complainant’s friends to film the harassment on a mobile phone.
All five of the accused have been booked under sections 118(1) (voluntarily causing hurt using a dangerous weapon or substance), 308(2) (extortion), and 351(1) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and sections 3 (prohibiting ragging in educational institutions) and 4 (punishment for participating in ragging) of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act. Following the registration of the case, the college principal suspended the accused students.