Won’t send son back to school, say Noida ragging victim’s father

A day after a class 11 student and his friend were allegedly ragged and beaten up in the hostel of Delhi Public School in Sector 30, the victim’s father said he will not send his child to that school again.

On the night of May 9, a class 11 student was allegedly ragged and beaten up with iron rods by a group of class 12 students. When one of his friends tried to help him, he was also roughed up.

Both were admitted to a hospital from where they were discharged after primary treatment. The victim’s father took him back to his hometown in Bulandshahr while his friend returned to the hostel.

“I don’t think I will be able to send him back to the same school. We are waiting for him to recover from his injuries. Once he gets better, we will see what can be done. I will request the school authorities to transfer my son to any other branch in Noida,” the victim’s father said over the phone from Bulandshahr.

A case was registered on Tuesday at Sector 20 police station against six identified and 10-12 unidentified students of class 12 who stay in the hostel. However, as all of the accused are minors and don’t have any criminal record, the police said they will deal with the case very carefully.

“We are investigating the case with the help of the child welfare committee. We will make sure a fair probe is being conducted in the case. Also, as the accused are juveniles, we are dealing with them very carefully as their futures are at stake,” said Kiran Sivakumar, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Gautam Budh Nagar.

Meanwhile, the school administration said they have suspended the six students named in the FIR. “Students are our priority and we will do everything possible to ensure that they are safe. The incident was very unfortunate. We have suspended all six students who were named in the FIR, pending inquiry by our school committee set up for the purpose. One of the victims has come back to the school and is attending classes. We are investigating the matter from every aspect. We will ensure that no such incident takes place in future,” said Kamini Bhasin, principal, DPS Noida, Sector 30.

District magistrate NP Singh said, “This is a very sensitive matter. I have asked the SSP for a thorough investigation of the case. If it is a case of ragging, lawful action should be initiated against the culprits. If it is a case of a brawl between two groups, it should be dealt with accordingly. I have personally asked (the police) to depute a sensitive officer to assist the investigation in this case as the students’ futures are at stake.”