Kottayam, Feb 12 Five third-year students of the state-run School of Nursing in Kottayam were arrested on Wednesday morning for ragging freshers.
The arrested students were identified as Rahul Raj, NS Jeeva, NP. Vivek, Rigil Jeeth and Samuel Johnson.
The arrest was made after first-year students complained against the accused claiming brutal torture.
The complainants said they were asked to stand naked, their pictures were taken, and the senior students drew marks on their bodies using sharp objects.
The senior students also used to collect money from freshers to buy liquor.
As the "torture" kept on increasing, the first-year students decided to register a complaint.
Natakom Suresh, the Kottayam district Congress Committee President said: "The police have to do a proper job. What's important is this has been going on for a few months and we wish to know what were the college authorities doing. If the police fail to do a clean job, we will take up the issue."
Top CPI-M leader from Kottayam, K. Anil Kumar, pointed out that the police have arrested the wrongdoers and will also conduct follow-up actions.
Incidentally, this case has come at a time when on February 6, a division bench of the Kerala High Court, while staying the order of the single judge which allowed the re-admission of 18 students at the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Mannuthy who were implicated as accused in the suicide of junior student J. S. Sidharthan.
The division bench on that day pointed out that "students indulging in ragging are worse than those indulging in vandalism".
Sidharthan's body was found in the hostel toilet on February 18, 2024, and it was alleged that he committed suicide.
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