Families yet to get justice in other cases

Kannur: Though Kerala was shocked to know about the atrocities endured by a Malayali student at Al Qamar College of Nursing, Kalaburagi in Karnataka, it is not the first such instance of ragging by seniors. Relatives and lawyers, who had been pursuing such cases in the past claimed that the accused in such cases mostly 'escaped' as there was a collusion between the police and college managements.
Four years ago, Ajmal Haris from Kannur, who studied in Sha-Shib College in Chikkaballapur in Karnataka, died of burn injuries he suffered after he was apparently ragged by his seniors.
"Though we filed a writ petition in the high court in Bengaluru - after the police manipulated the case for the college management to save the culprits - it is yet to be heard. The issue is that there was no evidence to prove the case as they were destroyed to save the culprits," said N Abdulla, Ajmal's uncle, adding that the police here too did not extend any help.
"Karnataka police said that Ajmal committed suicide fearing that his family might come to know about his shady financial deals. One of the boys, who ragged him, only took a gold chain from Ajmal and sold it in Kannur. Though this statement is available with Karnataka police, they keep on saying that Ajmal committed suicide," he said adding that the ragging victims are denied justice.
The family of Taliparamba native Deepak Padmanabhan, a student at Gnanamani Engineering College in Namakkal Tamil Nadu, who was allegedly killed by a gang on April 4, 2013, echoed similar views. "We lost our son but the accused are free. People who helped us in the beginning later supported the culprits and now we have no hope as the accused are wealthy. They have manipulated the evidence against us. If we are denied justice, I don't know how I will react. He was our only hope," said V Padmanabhan, who quit his job in the Gulf after Deepak's demise to fight the case.
Incidentally, in many cases the accused and victim were Malayalis.
"To change the scenario, the police should name the college authorities as accused. That never happens because the college managements influence the police to fabricate evidence to create the impression that the victim actually committed suicide," said a Bengaluru-based advocate, who helped Ajmal's family to fight the case initially, on conditions of anonymity.
He added students who rag juniors also operate as agents of the college. "If the accused are punished, it would affect the reputation of the college. So they go to any extent to save the culprits," he said.