Vijayawada: A first year intermediate student staying in the BC hostel at Dachepalli town in Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh was severely beaten by senior students in a hostel room on Thursday night. However, the incident came to light after a video of the ragging and assault went viral on social media on Saturday night.The attack was filmed by the senior students, and portions of the video footage was circulated widely on social media. Following this, the police swung into action and arrested three of the students involved in the assault. Two more students are absconding and the police have launched a search operation for them.Guruzala deputy superintendent of police BLN Jagadeesh said the victim is a student of a govt junior college and hails from a nearby locality called Srinagar. The assailants allegedly included two senior students from the hostel together with three other young men. The group kicked the student repeatedly and continued the assault even as he pleaded for mercy. Investigators said the attackers also attempted to give an electric shock using a live wire.The student informed the hostel warden, M Deepika, about the ragging incident on Friday, and the warden notified the police. Police officials visited the hostel and carried out an initial inquiry. The students staying in the hostel had dispersed to their educational institutions by the time the police arrived for the investigation. But, after the video surfaced on social media on Saturday evening, the police said they reassessed the severity of the incident and launched a formal investigation.Jagadeesh told TOI that three of the five accused have been taken into custody. Searches are on for the remaining two suspects, the DSP said. A criminal case has been registered against the accused, the police added.The extent of the victim’s injuries and any medical treatment he may have received were not immediately disclosed by authorities. Police said the probe is going on, and further legal action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation and any additional evidence recovered from the video and other inquiries.This is the third incident of ragging in an educational institution or hostel in the state in the last two months. Earlier this month, a group of students allegedly assaulted their juniors in a college in Kurnool district prompting investigation by the college management. A serious ragging incident was also reported from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Mangalagiri in Guntur district, where a first-year student from Tirupati was allegedly harassed by seniors in the campus hostel. The incident occurred on June 22, and came to light after an official probe led to the suspension of 13 students in July.It may be recalled that in August 2024, a bachelor of dental surgery (BDS) student allegedly died by suicide due to ragging and sexual harassment at a private dental college in Nellore city. A video of students being ragged at the same college surfaced in July 2024, sparking a political debate between two major political parties in the state.
