Agartala: The Tripura Human Rights Commission (THRC) has swung into action, taking suo-motu cognisance of two disturbing alleged ragging incidents surfacing from hostels in West and Khowai Districts.
The commission, led by Chairperson Justice Arindam Lodh, has issued stern directives to the Director General of Police and respective District Magistrates, demanding comprehensive inquiry reports by July 24.
One incident involves the prestigious Umakanta Academy’s boys’ hostel in Agartala, West District, where allegations of physical and mental harassment against two students have been reported. The gravity of the situation prompted Tribal Welfare Minister Bikas Debbarma to personally visit the hostel. The Minister, after an emergency meeting with teachers, hostel authorities, and students, voiced grave concerns, warning of stringent administrative and legal repercussions if the accusations prove true.
The THRC order explicitly states, “In view of the news item published in the newspapers, the Commission considers that this is a clear violation of human rights of the students of Umakanta Academy, Tripura.” Consequently, the District Magistrate & Collector, West Tripura, has been tasked with an inquiry and report submission. Copies of the order and news clippings have also been dispatched to the DGP, Tripura, and the Director of School Education, Govt. of Tripura, seeking their responses within fifteen days.
The second, equally distressing incident comes from the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) in Ramchandraghat, Khowai District. Here, a Class IX student, Ayush Dutta, allegedly fled the school hostel, unable to bear the incessant ragging by senior students. Ayush, upon reaching his home in the Sepahijala area of Khowai, along with his parents, lodged a formal complaint at Khowai Police Station on Monday, detailing mental and physical harassment. He claimed to have been repeatedly forced to comply with unreasonable demands from seniors and subjected to physical punishment for non-compliance, pushing him to escape the residential campus. While the school authorities initially filed a missing diary, Ayush had already safely reached home and informed his family of the alleged abuse.
As of the report, the school authorities had not yet issued a formal statement or confirmed any disciplinary action. Justice Lodh, in response, has directed the DGP, Tripura, the DM & Collector, Khowai District, and the Principal, JNV, Khowai, to submit their respective responses concerning the news item. Both matters are slated for their next hearing on July 24.
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