'Dumbbells tied to genitals..stabbed with compasses': Kerala students ragged mercilessly
What's the story
A horrifying ragging incident has emerged from the Government Nursing College in Kottayam, Kerala.
Three first-year students from Thiruvananthapuram filed a complaint with the Kottayam Gandhinagar police, narrating violent acts carried out by five third-year students over three months.
The abuse, which started in November 2024, included severe physical and mental torture, like being stripped naked and having dumbbells hung from their private parts, according to reports.
Torture tactics
Brutal acts of violence detailed in ragging incident
The victims were brutally tortured, stabbed with geometry box compasses, and beaten to a bloody pulp.
To increase the pain, the seniors also allegedly applied lotion on the wounds and forced it into the victims' mouths when they screamed.
These horrifying acts were allegedly filmed by the perpetrators, who used the footage as a means to threaten and silence their juniors.
Extortion tactics
Extortion and threats: Further details of the abuse
Apart from physical and mental torture, the victims were also extorted for money to buy alcohol. If they refused, they were allegedly subjected to more beatings.
One victim eventually confided in his father, who encouraged him to report the abuse to the police.
After the complaint, the five accused students were arrested under the Anti-Ragging Act. They are in police custody and will be produced before a magistrate by Wednesday afternoon.
Legal action
Accused students arrested under anti-ragging act
The five accused are second-year general nursing students Samuel Johnson (20) and Jeeva NS (19) and third-year students Rahul Raj KP (22), Rijiljith C (21), and Vivek NV (21).
The college principal has suspended them after the police registered a case under the Prohibition of Ragging Act of 2011.
The incident of ragging at the Government Nursing College in Kottayam comes days after a 15-year-old schoolboy died by suicide in Kochi, allegedly due to ragging.