By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 21: Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma on Saturday said if the case of ragging involving a student from Nagaland in NEHU’s Tura campus hostel is true, then it is unacceptable and highly condemnable.
He said investigation into the matter is continuing and therefore, it will be pre-mature to comment anything on it. Such incidents never happened before, he said.
According to him, students studying together should have mutual respect.
On October 8, the first-year Agri Business Management student from Nagaland, who joined the Arabella boys’ hostel in NEHU’s Tura campus recently, was allegedly forced to strip and dance by a group of five to six senior students from the same hostel for their entertainment.
The incident came to light after the student had lodged a formal complaint with the hostel’s proctor, Dr Gino Sangma. Subsequently, NEHU authorities launched an internal investigation.
Another fact-finding team from Shillong visited NEHU’s Tura campus. It has not yet shared its findings with anyone.
Following a ‘Zero’ FIR filed by the student in Nagaland later, the case was formally taken over by the police, followed by an investigation.
The case got murkier after NEHU apparently filed a formal FIR although the Vice Chancellor refused to hand over a copy of the complaint along with the findings to the family of the student. This made NSU – Shillong (NSUS) question the commitment of the institution in ensuring justice for the student.
NSUS suspected that efforts were being made to shield the perpetrators instead of acting against them.