Debagada: Six students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) hostel at Sunamunda in Odisha’s Deogarh, were injured after allegedly being subjected to ragging by nine senior Class XII students on Tuesday night.
The victims, studying in Classes IX and X, were allegedly beaten with a cricket bat inside the hostel premises. The injured juniors have been identified as Soham Dhal, Shreeyam Dehuri, Yashobant Dhal, Shashikant Pradhan, Lokesh Pradhan, and Aryan Sahu. The beating is suspected to be the fallout of a recent complaint by parents of some juniors students to the school administration, regarding violation of campus rules on mobile phones by several Class XII students.
Following the incident, Manmohan Dhal, the father of one of the injured boys, lodged a formal complaint at Debagada police station against nine senior students. Based on the complaint, the police registered a First Information Report (FIR) and have launched a thorough investigation.
Taking immediate disciplinary action, JNV Principal Uttam Prasad has expelled all nine accused students from the school hostel. Local authorities and school administration have assured that strict action will be taken to ensure such incidents of ragging are not repeated, emphasising a zero-tolerance policy for harassment on campus.
