In Video Before Death, Student Who Died After Sex Assault Recounts Horror

The 19-year-old had fallen ill after allegedly being assaulted by three of her fellow students and sexually assaulted by a professor in Dharamshala.

02 Jan 2026, 11:57 · www.ndtv.com

A heart-wrenching video of the 19-year-old student from Himachal Pradesh who died after being ragged and harassed has emerged, in which she speaks about repeated instances of sexual assault by a professor in her college.

The teenager, a student of the Government Degree College in Dharamshala, died on December 26, and a case was registered on Thursday based on her father's complaint. In the First Information Report, the father said his daughter was assaulted by three students, Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika, on September 18. The students had then allegedly threatened her against speaking out.

The FIR also states that a professor at the college, Ashok Kumar, used to indulge in "obscene acts" with her. The student fell ill after the assault and mental and sexual harassment, and her health kept getting progressively worse until she died on December 26 while undergoing treatment at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana. The father said in his complaint that he could not inform the police earlier because of his daughter's shock and illness.

In a video from the time she was being treated, the teenager can be seen lying on a hospital bed, looking very unwell and dazed.

A woman can be heard asking her what the professor's name was, and she says, "Ashok sir".

Asked what the professor would do, she replied, "Ajeeb ajeeb harkate karte the. Peeche padh jaate the (He would do strange things, be after me)."

Prodded for details, the teenager was very hesitant, prompting the woman to ask whether her father should be sent out of the room.

Replying in the negative, the girl said the professor would touch her, pointing to her chest. "Bahut kuch bolte the (He would say a lot of things)," she said.

The three students have been charged with ragging under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009, a police officer said. A case of sexual assault has been registered against the professor.

Principal Reacts

Expressing his condolences to the family, the principal of the college, Rakesh Pathania, said no complaint had been filed by the teenager with the college authorities.

Pathania said the teenager had failed three subjects in her first year and, as per university guidelines, could not be promoted to the second year.

"She approached the professor who teaches geography, her main subject, and it was explained to her that she had to take admission to the first year again. So, she was also depressed because of her results and felt we were deliberately denying her admission in the second year. Based on the information given to me by teachers, she has not attended classes since July 29," the principal said.

Pathania asserted that the college authorities tried to call the teenager's parents after this, but got no response.

"We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to ragging. Students are encouraged to approach teachers on the ragging committee and there are several women teachers she could have complained to, but she did not. The college did not receive any such complaint. Another complaint to the chief minister's helpline in December did not reach us because the name of another college was mentioned. We are cooperating with the police," he explained.

"Harassment allegations are also being made. The professor in question has been teaching for years and I don't want to say more about this because it is for the police to investigate," he added.

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