The main accused in the heinous ragging incident that took place in Dibrugarh University in Assam, has handed himself over, officials informed on Monday.
Police said that Rahul Chetry, one of the prime accused in the Dibrugarh University ragging incident that left a junior-year student hospitalized with serious injuries, surrendered before them at around 6 am today.
Chetry surrendered before the police at the Lekhapani Police Station in the Tinsukia district of Assam. His name had popped up during investigations into the events leading to the incident after a junior-year student, Anand Sharma had jumped off the second floor of Padmanath Gohain Baruah Hostel inside the campus.
According to reports, Chetry had been on the run since the incident came to light on November 27. Meanwhile, Dibrugarh Police has taken over the custody of Rahul Chetry in connection with the matter.
It may be noted that Anand Sharma was among two other junior-year students who were thrashed by seniors and passed out students who were still residing in the hostel. Unable to take the beating, Sharma chose to jump off the second floor of his hostel, with the resulting fall shattering his backbone. He had been hospitalized since and underwent a successful surgery on December 1.
In the wake of the incident, the university authorities took several measures including setting up of an anti-ragging cell to look into and prevent further occurrences of incidents of such nature. In addition, five-member high-level committee was also set up to probe the incident and the events leading up to it.
Meanwhile, several students were taken into custody by Dibrugarh Police after their names appeared during the probe into the incident. Following the incident, the authorities at Dibrugarh University also rusticated several students, barring them from admission into any other university across the country for the next three years.
Criticising the heinous incident of ragging, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted, “It has come to notice that a Dibrugarh University student is hurt in an alleged case of ragging. A close watch was maintained and follow-up action was coordinated with the district admin. Efforts on to nab the accused, the victim being provided medical care".
"Appeal to students, say NO to Ragging," he added.
