NEW DELHI: In a bid to set a deterrent, the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration rusticated 19 students -- nine from the university and 10 from their hostels -- on Wednesday for practising and witnessing ragging. The decision came hours after the proctorial committee submitted its report to the vice-chancellor.

The nine students who were found to have ragged their juniors have been rusticated from the university for two years, vice chancellor B B Bhattacharya said, adding that the campus was off-limits for them. Among these students were four who were expelled from the hostel on August 13, after being caught red-handed in Sabarmati Hostel by the anti-ragging committee.

Three girls were among the 10 others rusticated from their hostels for a year for being present as silent spectators during the ragging incidents. All 19 are students of MCA from the School of Computer and Systems Sciences.
"It is a painful decision, but I hope this is the first and last incident in JNU," said Bhattacharya. "It is disturbing that even after signing the affidavit promising not to indulge in or support any act of ragging, they did so. Nine students are rusticated for being directly involved in ragging. The other 10 were punished as they didn't intervene and they are morally responsible as they were present on the occasion."

Though all the students are from the same program and school, Bhattacharya said this should not be seen as the trend in that department. "Coincidentally, they are from the same school. But, for us the issue is not of which school or program. It happened in JNU and that is what we have to address," he said.

The issue came to light on August 12, when Balbir Chand, a first-semester MCA student, complained to the dean of students' welfare that he had been ragged. Thereafter, the anti-ragging committee caught four senior students of MCA red-handed during a ragging session at Sabarmati hostel. On August 18, the university served 15 show-cause notices, asking for an explanation by Wednesday. According to officials of the proctorial committee, the explanations furnished by the students were "unsatisfactory".

While the 10 students rusticated from the hostels are allowed to continue classes, for the nine students rusticated from the university, returning to JNU after two years may not be a smooth affair. "We have taken this matter on high priority and their return is not automatic. The university has to be satisfied with their conduct during this period and then only the university will decide," said rector II of JNU, Ram Adhikari Kumar.

source: TOI