CMC student posts ragging of freshers on social media, probe ordered

VELLORE: @KarthikChadaar posting a tweet on the Indian subreddit, horrific acts of ragging of freshers in CMC, Vellore, has resulted in the institution’s principal ordering an enquiry.

The post detailed how freshers were ragged mercilessly and inhumanly by seniors while those in the know wondered how this could happen in a reputed institution when there are specific laws against ragging to be followed by all higher education institutions in the country.

The content revealed that ragging was followed in many forms in March this year: ‘buzzing’ was the code word to hit freshers’ testicles with any object including hockey sticks and bottles while ‘tuning’ was the pinching of nipples till it resulted in severe pain and bleeding injury.

Stating that ragging included physical and psychological torture, another specialty by seniors was ‘Jupiter watch’ wherein freshers would be taken to the hostel’s top floor and held upside by the legs. Freshers would also be slapped for trivial reasons while it was routine for juniors to be naked before seniors with genitals being covered only by a piece of cardboard, it added.

Psychological abuse included freshers being forced to learn seniors’ full names, where they were from and being physically abused if they failed this ‘test.’ Also freshers needed seniors permission to eat each time they entered the mess in addition to being verbally tortured with choice abuse.

Ragging ceremonies included a ‘walking race’ which took place on October 9 in which they were paraded around the ground in underwear and forced to perform various acts, including mimicking sex with the ground, as also with batchmates, having eggs thrown at them and being doused with water from a fire hydrant.

The above took place after the Junior Mr Men’s hostel bodybuilding competition the same day, when freshers, sans consent, were made to exhibit themselves in their underwear in the presence of the warden and deputy warden and some doctors who were the judges.

The tweet was also forwarded to #tamilnadu police, #cmcvellore@mkstalin.

When contacted, CMC principal Dr Solomon Satish Kumar said that he had received an anonymous email about ragging on Sunday last. After this reporter forwarded the tweet, he said, “an enquiry has already been started and we are trying to get at the root of the matter.” He also said that the enquiry would be completed shortly.