Management of the College of Agriculture, Pune has rusticated eight of the nine students for ragging first year students. The ninth one has been expelled from the college hostel for the entire degree course and debarred from any representation of the institution in any competition, formal meet or festival. A copy of the decision was put up on the college notice board on Monday afternoon and the copies of the same were also given to the rusticated students.

B R Ulmek, Associate Dean and Principal of the college had filed an official complaint against nine students at the Shivaji Nagar Police station on November 24 after the internal committee assessment of their behavior on the campus. The students were arrested under sections of the Indian Penal Code, which included intent to cause hurt, voluntarily causing hurt, criminal intimidation and unlawful assembly. The charge under sections of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1999 too has been put against them. However, they were released later on a surety of Rs 10,000 each.

Ulmek said, “The anti-ragging committee has suggested action of rustication against all the accused. The decision is displayed on the notice board. I hope such an open display will detest other students from indulging in such activities.”

The names of the arrested students are Pramod Digamber Bhatane, Chetan Gautam Waghmare, Sanket Shivajirao Bhadange, Sachin Yashwantrao Raut, Vinod Gorakhnath Kasture, Deepak Jaisinghrao Wagh, Gajanan Narayanrao Garad, Shailesh Shahaji Wagh and Vikas Ratneshwar Kakade. First year students like Ashok Shivajirao Shewale (Beed), Pravin Gopalrao Shelke (Jalna), Amol Borkar (Wasim), Pravin Surve had complained of ragging by these students. Except Pramod Bhatane all these students stay in the college hostel.

Pramod didn’t take admission for this semester but used to visit the hostel off and on. All the rest except Pramod Bhatane faced the police inquiry as well as the enquiry committee set up by the college. The committee rusticated eight students from the college while Vikas Kakade, though not rusticated has been debarred from representing the institution. Sachin Raut and Pramod Bhatane have been identified as the mastermind of the incident. The College Management has also withdrawn all scholarships of these two students.

The college had instituted a committee comprising fifteen members from the college administrative staff, non-teaching staff, representatives of non-governmental organization, parents and students’ representatives. The committee took an action against the convicts after hearing both the sides in three meetings.

- Yogesh Sapre