HT Correspondent
JORHAT, Dec 21: The Jagannath Barooah College (Autonomous), Jorhat, authorities have decided to expel four students from the college boys’ hostel and strip two off their Students’ Union portfolios following the recommendation of the Anti- Ragging Committee of the institute.
The JB College vice principal (Academic, Arts) Dr Surajit Sharma told this newspaper that the Anti Ragging Committee which had a sitting on Tuesday, presided over by principal Utpal Jyoti Mahanta, decided to take action as per the enquiry report of the committee.
Sharma said that the meeting decided to expel four students from the Syed Abdul Malik Boys Hostel and to ban their entry to the hostel for life.
Sharma said that the notices of the decision taken by the Anti- Ragging Committee meeting would be served soon to the students against whom action has been recommended.
The expelled four students are: Jintu Chettri (BA 3rd semester), Vikram Aditya Bora (BCom 3rd semester), Vishal Rongpi (BA 5th semester) and Akash Jyoti Saikia (BA 3rd semester).
The vice principal further said that the meeting approved stripping of the portfolios of two students from the students’ union body in this regard, and they are Vikram Aditya Bora, Boys’ Common Room secretary and Sumit Rai, (a BCom 3rd semester student), who was the cricket secretary.
He, however, said that Rai has been allowed to stay in the hostel.
Sharma further stated that the enquiry committee, which took the statements of the complainant, Pranab Jyoti Chetia, a BA 1st semester student, the alleged perpetrators of ragging, and witnesses, could not substantiate charges against three students.
It may be mentioned here that the action comes in wake of Chetia lodging a complaint to the principal on November 30 against nine students of the hostel alleging that he faced ragging when he joined the hostel in September.
Chetia, had lodged the same complaint for the second time on November 30 to the authorities after he had earlier withdrawn his first complaint in September, just two days after lodging the complaint.
The College authorities had started an inquiry in September but could not take action because Chetia backed out.
However, Dr Sharma informed that the College authorities had debarred Ankur Saudang, now a passed out student from entering the hostel for life. He was one among the nine students against whom the complaint was lodged
Chetia had on November 27 night uploaded a post on a social media platform alleging ragging in the JB College hostel after the ragging incident of Dibrugarh University.
A case was also registered at the Jorhat police station in this regard after College authorities had lodged an FIR.