Tura, Oct 14: The news of ragging of a student in Tura campus of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) has sent shockwaves through the region, with cries of justice coming from all corners. The campus administration, on its part, had begun looking into the incident from the very day it took place, however, till now, even after passing of more than 5 days, they have not been able to make any headway.

Speaking to Hub News on Friday, Campus Director of NEHU’s Tura campus, Prof. Sujata Gurudev, admitted that the investigation into the ragging incident is yet to make any headway and they have not been able to figure out or get any leads on the perpetrators of the ragging case.

Talking about the course of action from the side of the NEHU’s Tura campus administration, she said they started to investigate the incident from October 8, 2023 onwards, the day the incident took place.

The student, an MBA student of the Department of Agri Business Management in NEHU, hailing from Nagaland was subjected to torturous and humiliating ragging in the wee hours of October 8, 2023, around 1.30 AM to 2 AM. He was made to strip naked and mocked by a group of students, whose identities remain a mystery till now.

Read: Student ragging in NEHU’s Tura Campus; details of humiliating incident revealed

However, Tura campus authorities only learnt of the incident when one of the relatives of the victimized student called the proctor of the campus at around 8.30 PM to inquire about the incident. When inquired, it was learnt that the student had already left the campus around 4 PM with one of his cousins on the same day, but he had not informed about it to university authorities.

The university officials tried to get in touch with the student, but apparently, he refused to talk to them. He was still haunted by the ordeal he went through and was unwilling to talk to reveal any details.

“On 9th October, another attempt was made to communicate with the victim to get more details but apparently, he was not in a condition to speak. Thereafter, the investigation began in the Arbella Hostel, all students, all security guards, everything, the time log of everyone, the mobiles of all were checked, and all this went on and on and it was a very very thorough investigation. But throughout the investigation, they checked their mobiles, they checked the security guards, no one seemed to have heard a thing, no one seemed to have noticed anything, his roommate himself did not know the boy had left the campus,” Prof. Gurudev said.

Also read: NEHU constitutes fact finding committee to probe ragging incident in Tura Campus

Instead of sharing about the ragging episode, the student told his roommate that his father had met with an accident and he needed to leave urgently.

On 10th of October, another round of questioning was conducted but it again led towards a dead end because no one seemed to know a thing about it or heard anything.

On 11th of October, the university administration once again tried to get in touch with the student, hoping to find some clues or leads that could help to zero down the investigation. However, he remained unable to speak to the officials.

On the same day, the case was handed over to the Campus Disciplinary Committee. The committee thoroughly examined all evidence materials available, and students and everyone related to the incident was questioned. This went on from morning 10 AM to beyond 7.30 PM, almost reaching midnight. Yet nothing came to light.

On 12th of October, the committee again started with a round of questioning, trying to find facts but the probe went nowhere. The committee remained clueless as the victim had not shared anything that could help them get more details or leads. Another attempt was made to bring the student online through his parents but this also did not bear fruit was he remained traumatized and refused to speak anything on the incident.

On 12th October itself, the Meghalaya police also started their own investigation into the case. They came to the university campus and once again investigated the entire thing and went through the same leads and questioned students.

Also read: Cherian Momin condemns ragging of student in NEHU’s Tura Campus, demands legal action

“The Meghalaya police have taken over and here we feel is the glimmer of light for us because we believe this is a criminal investigation and it is the best and appropriate solution. The police have to take the lead in getting (the facts out),” Prof. Gurudev mentioned on police involvement into the case.

She further said the whole campus is in a state of trauma and they are waiting for the facts to be revealed at the earliest.

At the same time, the fact finding committee from the Shillong campus, NEHU’s main campus, reached Tura on Friday to probe the case. They have been briefed about the investigation and latest status of the case and told to stay longer in the campus and talk to students slowly.

With university investigation underway for over 5 days and even the police getting involved, the case has made no progress. The only way forward seems to be for the victim to reveal details. But the complexity and challenge in the case keeps getting bigger as days drag on and the perpetrators roam at large.

Read: CM Conrad inaugurates the LED bulbs assembling unit in Tura to promote clean and efficient energy

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