20 Class 9 students complain of ragging in hostel. Seniors thrash them with bats

The assault was triggered after the junior students complained to the headmaster that they had been facing ragging and harassment by senior students inside the hostel.

In Short

• Assault triggered after juniors complained about ragging
• Injured students hospitalised, parents informed
• District administration ordered inquiry and show-cause notice

More than 20 Class 9 students were allegedly beaten by senior students at a government school hostel in Odisha's Rayagada district after they complained to authorities about ragging and harassment.

The incident took place on Sunday at the SSD High School hostel.

According to preliminary information, a Class 10 student, along with several other senior students, called the 20 boys into a room and thrashed them cricket bats and sticks.

The attack was triggered after the junior students complained to the headmaster that they had been facing ragging and harassment by senior students inside the hostel.

Several students were injured and were later shifted to a hospital for treatment, while their parents were informed about the incident.

Following the assault, the district administration launched an inquiry into the matter and issued a show-cause notice to the school's headmaster over negligence in handling complaints of ragging.

The administration has also directed school authorities to immediately report any such incidents in the future and warned that strict action would be taken against those found responsible.

Headmaster Pratap Chandra Saunta said the school authorities learnt about the incident only on Tuesday.

"We came to know about the incident on Tuesday morning. Some Class 10 students had physically assaulted several Class 9 students. Since the incident occurred late at night, the authorities were unable to learn about it immediately. We informed the parents of the affected students and sent the injured students to the hospital for medical treatment," he said.

One of the injured students, Shubham Naik, claimed that the abuse had been continuing for a long time and that repeated complaints to teachers had gone unaddressed.

"Senior students have been regularly attacking and torturing us in the school hostel with sticks. We complained to the teachers about it, but they did not take any action. They have been assaulting us on the hostel premises for a long time," he said.

- Ends