Six students lose hearing after brutal 'ragging session' in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: The eardrums of at least half-a-dozen students of the Lucknow Polytechnic have been ruptured after they were slapped by senior students during a “ragging programme”.

The students have turned hearing impaired in one ear and have complained of severe pain too.

“The seniors came with their faces covered when we had gone to the nearby market and asked us to follow them. When some of us resisted, they began slapping us hard till we fell down with pain. They warned us not to report the matter to the college authorities or else we would have to face the consequences,” said one of the students.

All the students who have suffered ear injuries belong to the first year in mechanical, electrical and civil course in the polytechnic.

Rajendra Singh, principal of the polytechnic, told this Deccan Chronicle on Wednesday that some of the injured students had met him and he had asked them to identify the offenders.

“Six senior students have been identified and we have issued them a showcause notice. If they fail to reply to the charges within a fortnight, we will initiate action against them. We are also arranging for the treatment of the boys who have been injured,” he said.

Though ragging has been banned by the college authorities, the polytechnic students are known to be rather aggressive while ragging the freshers.

“Why should we not rag the juniors? We were also ragged by our seniors and this is an important part of college life. The injured students are blaming all their physical deformities on us though most of them have been injured elsewhere,” said a third year student.

No case has yet been registered in the matter.