“My mother is afraid to send me back to college, after what all they did to me,” Ameen says, “She is scared that they might do something worse to me.”
This 22-year-old Bachelor of Business Administration student was threatened and assaulted by seniors in his college. Ameen Anzari still wants to go back to college and study but he is scared to go.
In October, the ragging went on for over a period of one week. Emboldened by their actions, his seniors from East Point College of Engineering and Technology in Avalahalli in south Bengaluru went to the extent of physically assaulting Ameen.
The fourteen accused allegedly physically assaulted Ameen, locked him in a room and extorted money from him. They issued death threats while demanding money. He sustained injuries all over his body, and his doctors in a Kerala hospital found three blood clots in his brain. He was in the hospital for almost a month due to his injuries and infections. Ameen is still recovering in a relative's house in Bengaluru.
The police have nabbed one person in connection with the case in the wee hours of 15 November. Other than accused number one Amir, the police have been unable to arrest any of the others involved in the case.
With thirteen of his seniors still on the loose, Ameen’s family is scared for his safety.
Ameen who joined the college just a few months ago, in August, wants to complete his course. The Bangalore Mirror reported on Thursday that the victim of ragging has quit his studies and gone back to Kerala. However, Ameen says that though he is under pressure to quit, he had come back to the city earlier this week, to file a police complaint against his harassers.
Ameen is now staying with his uncle, Shimi Anzari. Shimi told TNM that the college offered no support to the family, and that they were not addressing the problem.
“The entire administration knows about this case, from the Director to the Principal, but no action was taken. The college only gave us the accused students’ contact details. They told us that the accused students have only four percent attendance, and they are not attending classes.
Vijay Bhaskar, principal of the Higher Education section of the college which offers BBA, said, “The incidents have taken place away from the college campus, and the matter is now with the police.” When asked if any action has been taken against the students, he requested that TNM meet with him in person next week.
The Karnataka Education Act of 1968 says that any individual guilty of a ragging offense must be jailed for up to one year, along with a fine.
Ameen says that while the assault took place outside the campus, the first instances of ragging began within the campus.
It isn’t just the college’s lackadaisical response that has disheartened the family, but the police’s attitude too has caused dismay.
Ameen says the Avalahalli police at first refused to take a case, and finally registered a case only on 11 November.
“We had to sit in the police station for three days to ensure an FIR was registered,” Ameen said.
The accused persons, Ameer, Rahil, Mubazil, Shahin, Musthafa and 9 other persons were not to be found in their usual hangouts.
When asked if he would leave college, he said only two words: "No way."