Uttar Pradesh Police arrest four BHU students on ragging charges

VARANASI - Uttar Pradesh Police arrested four students of the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) here on Friday for stripping a physically challenged student as part of ragging.

It has been reported that the students assaulted and stripped a physically challenged youth named Ajit Upadhyay, and forced him to perform obscene acts that were even filmed by them on their mobile phones, and circulated among the other students.

The arrests came after the victim, a native of Bihar, threatened to commit suicide if no action was taken against the four.

Varanasi Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) D. K. Thakur said the police took action nearly a year after the victim had registered his complaint against the four students.

“When this incident of beating the students took place in September, then they informed the Anti-Ragging Squad. When the investigation on the issue took place, we got this information from the media, then we contacted Ajit Upadhyay and from him also we got to know about the whole incident,” said Thakur.

“Hence we filed his complaint of ragging. In that complaint, names of the students were clearly mentioned, whom he has recognized,” he added.

One of the arrested students, however, refuted the entire incident and claimed that the charges against him were baseless.

“The whole incident is fake. This boy took admission with all of us in our batch only and was residing with us in the hostel, so there is no matter of ragging him, as he is our batch-mate,” said Ashish, an accused.

“Moreover, you can investigate our character in the hostel. How we rag other students and how we behave with them, they would let you know,” he added.

Meanwhile, the victim Upadhyay recalled the entire incident.

“Considering the mismanagement of the college, on October 13, 2009, I filed a complaint against Mohit Shukla and Grijesh Tiwari, along with some seniors. All these people took me out of the BHU (Banaras Hindu University) campus in a preplanned manner and then behaved in a very offensive manner with me,” said Upadhyay.

The police would take further action against the arrested students. (ANI)