Karnataka police to record statement of ragging victim on Saturday

Kozhikode: A team of Karnataka police, probing the alleged ragging of a first-year Dalit student of a nursing college in Gulbarga who is now undergoing treatment at a hospital in Kozhikode with severe stomach and foodpipe problems, will visit her on Saturday to record her statement, police said. [caption id=“attachment_2850224” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Getty images[/caption] “A team of policemen from Karnataka has already arrived while higher ranked officials will arrive here tomorrow,” Sub Inspector of Kozhikode Medical College Hospital (KMCH) police station, Habib, told PTI. 19-year-old Aswathi was allegedly force-fed toilet cleaner by her seniors at the hostel of Al Qamal College of Nursing in Gulbarga on 9 May, seriously damaging her foodpipe. Based on her statement, city police on 22 June registered an FIR against five of her seniors. A copy was sent to Gulbarga Police Commissioner for further investigation. Aswathi was admitted to a private hospital in Gulbarga after the incident, but her condition worsened after five days and she was sent back home with another Keralite student. She was then admitted to Thrissur Medical College Hospital, after which she was referred to KMCH on 2 June. Doctors at KMCH had suggested a major surgery as the chemicals of the toilet cleaner severely damaged her food pipe following which she had been admitted to the ICU. Meanwhile, Kerala Women’s Commission in a letter to the Karnataka Women’s Commission, urged it to intervene in the matter and “take right action on the incident in which the girl was brutally harassed in the name of ragging”. KWC Chairperson Rosa Kutty also spoke to her Karnataka counterpart before sending the letter, a KWC release said. KWC member Noorbeena Rasheed said she visited the victim at KMCH on Thursday, based on which the letter was sent to the women’s commission in Karnataka. The letter alleged that Karnataka Police was not willing to act against either college authorities or hostel officials. The girl was in a serious condition and she needed six months treatment and special surgery, it said. Considering the seriousness of the matter, the KWC should intervene in the matter and take action, it added.