Expelled BHU students find support

Perhaps for the first time, over 1400 budding engineers have thrown their weight behind four fellow students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), who were expelled for two years last month on ragging a Dalit junior beyond imagination.

The four students -- SK Harsha, P Kishore Kumar, K Raja and Guru Prasad – on Monday submitted to the BHU Vice Chancellor’s Office, an appeal, requesting the varsity to reconsider the punishment.

As per SK Harsha (expelled student of B Tech III-Mechanical Engineering), over 1400 of the 1600-odd B Tech students of IT-BHU have signed the appeal to BHU V-C Prof DP Singh, requesting him to accept the foursome’s apology and reconsider punishment against them, to save their engineering career.

All four expelled B Tech students belonging to scheduled caste, hail from Andhra Pradesh and were expelled by BHU administration on Sep 14 for ragging beyond imagination Dalit student of IT-BHU preparatory classes, at a restaurant outside the BHU campus on Sep 13 evening.

BHU had not only expelled them, besides vacating the hostel for two years, but also registered against them criminal case of ragging, extortion and obscene conduct with the Varanasi Police, which arrested them and sent to jail.

Two days later the four students (two from B Tech III and two from B Tech I) were released on interim bail by a Varanasi Court.

Monday’s appeal signed by B Tech students of IT-BHU comes just before Tuesday’s BHU Anti-Ragging Committee meeting as also the Varanasi Court hearing the bail plea of the four students the same day.