By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 18: As the horrible incident of ragging at NEHU Tura Campus awaits justice, different student bodies on Wednesday reposed faith in the university and Tura Police to ensure that those guilty are brought to book.
It may be recalled that a first-year Agri Business Management student from Nagaland who recently joined the Arabella hostel for boys at NEHU Tura Campus was allegedly forced to strip and made to dance by a group of 5-6 senior students from the same hostel. The incident had come to light after the student wrote a formal complaint to the proctor of the hostel following which NEHU authorities launched an internal investigation into the matter.
The student bodies comprise Naga Student Union Shillong (NSUS), Angami Elders’ Forum Shillong (AEFS), Angami Students Union Shillong (ASUS), NEHU Students Union, besides Naga students of NEHU.
Another meeting was held by the different student bodies on Monday in the presence of Registrar Prof SR Joshi and Chairman of the Fact Finding Committee Prof Lucy Zehol, tasked with investigating the ragging incident at NEHU Tura Campus.
The Vice Chancellor of NEHU, Prof Prabha Shankar Shuka was unable to attend the meeting owing to an emergency summon by the Governor.
The NSUS, in a statement on Wednesday, said that during the meeting, it was brought to light that the Vice Chancellor had already filed an FIR at Tura Police station on October 14 thereby entrusting the authorities with the responsibility of conducting a thorough investigation of this incident.
This had fulfilled a condition put forth in the charter of demands by the student bodies on October 11.
It was also decided in the meeting that the university should provide a copy of the FIR submitted by the VC to Tura Police on October 14 to the victim’s family and/or their representatives
The meeting also decided that the victim’s family or relative should provide an authentic copy of the report compiled by the internal Fact Finding Committee in the case and a formally endorsed missive from the Vice Chancellor assuring that NEHU is resolutely committed to taking appropriate measures, in strict compliance with the UGC Anti-Ragging Laws, regardless of whether the police investigation will garner results.