Rights panel to probe ‘ragging death’

Manoj was found hanging in his room in a private hostel on the evening of November 10. According to sources, he did not attend college on the previous day as well and did not come down to the canteen to eat. On November 10, his friends found him hanging from the ceiling fan in his room.

His father SP George Varaprasad had alleged that Manoj committed suicide because of ragging by his seniors. “While I cannot show any proof, he (Manoj) often complained of ragging on telephone,’’ George said.

But when the SHRC spoke to Manoj’s friends yesterday, they said that the First-Year student rarely spoke to them about being ragged by seniors. Manoj’s room-mate in the Hostel, N Udayasena Reddy, also a First-Year student of Vardhaman College, said Manoj never spoke to him about ragging.

“Whenever we talked about ragging, he would remain quiet. He once said that his seniors made him introduce himself, but did not say anything more about this.’’ Manoj’s classmate Shaikh Nizammuddin too said Manoj had never mentioned anything about ragging.

Principal Secretary (Higher Education) Ashutosh Mishra said detailed instructions had been sent to colleges, district administration and police officials, in light of the recent suicides in the state. “We have told the

District Collectors and Superintendants of police to form a committee to monitor and check ragging in colleges,’’ he said.