Andhra hostel warden sacked, two students expelled over ragging assault

Authorities in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district dismissed a hostel warden and expelled two students over a brutal ragging incident involving electric shocks to juniors, one of them differently-abled. A viral video sparked outrage, leading to arrests and a government probe

Amaravati: Taking serious note of alleged ragging and assault on two students by a group of seniors and their friends at a government hostel in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district, the officials on Monday dismissed the hostel warden and expelled two students involved in the incident.

Palnadu District Collector P Arun Babu on Monday issued orders, dismissing warden M Deepika. He has also ordered action against hostel watchman Sanjeshwara Rao. The Collector also issued orders to expel two students of the intermediate second year of a junior college who, with the help of their friends, allegedly ragged, assaulted and administered electric shocks to two first-year students after calling them to the hostel.

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One of the victims is reported to be physically challenged. The incident occurred at the hostel at Dachepalle in Palnadu district on August 7. The shocking incident came to light after the video of the torture of one of the victims went viral on social media, triggering outrage.

The second-year students filmed the ragging and threatened to kill the victim. The accused kicked the victim repeatedly and continued the assault even as he pleaded for mercy. The seniors also administered electric shock using a live wire.

The victim informed the hostel warden, who alerted the police. After the video surfaced on social media on Saturday, police launched an investigation. Police registered a criminal case against the accused. Five of them have been arrested while the search was on for two other suspects.

One of the victims was assaulted for being in love with his classmate, as one of the accused was also in love with the same girl, while the other victim was ragged by seniors who wanted him to go for a haircut of their liking.

The opposition YSR Congress Party called for immediate government action. “A shocking incident has come to light at the BC Boys’ Hostel in Dachepalli, Palnadu district, where senior students, intoxicated with alcohol and ganja, brutally assaulted a junior student. The victim was locked inside a room, beaten without mercy, and threatened with electric shock, turning the hostel into a scene of horror. Reports reveal that the same group of seniors had earlier tortured a differently-abled student in a similar manner. Such repeated atrocities raise serious questions about the safety and supervision in BC hostels. The government must act immediately to ensure strict punishment and protect the welfare of hostel students,” the YSRCP said in a statement.

Education Minister Nara Lokesh said he was deeply disturbed by reports of this incident. “A comprehensive investigation is underway. Such reprehensible conduct has no place in a civilised society. I have directed that prompt and exemplary legal action be taken to ensure such acts are not repeated,” he said in a post on ‘X’.