KOZHIKODE (Kerala): With justice that came over a month too late, two seniors have been charged with attempt to murder and ragging, after an 18-year old student in a Karnataka nursing college was forced to drink phenyl. The first year student, who also happens to be a Dalit, is currently in a hospital undergoing treatment. She reportedly cannot eat, drink or even swallow her saliva.
She named five to eight seniors in the police complaint, who allegedly forced phenyl down her throat on May 9. "They said you go and die drinking this. I tried to escape but they again caught me and made me drink the fluid," she said. Initially hospitalised in the state, she was moved to Kerala, her home state, after her situation worsened. The un-named girl had joined Al Qamar college five months back and said she was harassed throughout.
She also alleged the college is complicit in the extreme ragging as it did not punish earlier incidents."It's been more than 40 days since I attended the college but no one from there has called me even once." Her mother, a daily wage labourer took a loan of Rs 300,000 for her education. Cases under various sections of IPC, including 307 (attempt to murder), 36 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 346 (wrongful confinement in secret) and various sections of SC, ST Atrocities Act have been registered.
