Ragging shatters dreams of engineering student

Scared

of the memories of the horrible torture unleashed by a gang of Malayali senior

students during a train journey in Tamil Nadu, Geevarghese John has given up

his dreams of becoming a B Tech degree holder.

 Geevarghese, who was a fourth semester

student of Jnanamani Engineering College, Salem, had hit headlines after he was

subjected to brutal torture on board a train during a journey home last January.

 A native of Ernakulam district, Geevarghese

has now joined a college at Piravom for BSc Electronics course.

 According to his relatives, Geevarghese

had faced threats from senior students from initiating legal action against the

miscreants.

 Though he returned to the college in

Salem after recovery from injuries, friends of the accused in the case

allegedly threatened him and insisted to compromise the case.

 Geevarghese and his friend Arun were

attacked by a group of senior students in the general compartment of Chennai

Mail soon after train left Salem station.

 The gang demanded cash and ATM cards.

 When resisted, the duo were beaten up

with iron rods and their ears pierced.

 Both of them were thrown out of the

train at Erode station but Arun managed to get into the train again and alighted

at Palakkad station where he got first aid.

 From there he was shifted to a hospital

in Thrissur.

 Geevarghese contacted the Erode station

master who took him to a hospital.

 His relatives later arrived and took

him to Kochi.

 “Even eight months after the heinous

crime occurred nobody was arrested.

 We had given the names of the torturers,

but they have not been booked so far.

 I am concerned only of my son’s safety,

so I wanted him to quit the Salem College and continue his studies here,” Geevarghese’s

mother Annamma said.

 Geevarghese’s family has incurred a

loss of `3 lakh which they already spent for the engineering course in Salem.

 Annamma said that the parents of some of

the accused had come for a compromise.

 “Let there be no more such a crime, so

we refused for such a settlement,” she added.

 Earlier, in a complaint John had

mentioned the names of his seniors who attacked him and his friend.

 The names mentioned in the complaint

are Akhil Babu of Ochira, Tintu Abraham of Uzhavoor, Kiran Nair of Parassala,

Ebin Babu of Malappuram and Justin.

 The relatives said that Mulanthuruthi police

has registered a case against eight persons, including four unidentified persons,

after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy ordered to initiate action against them.

 “However, the police did not take any

action, despite a High Court order which upheld the decision to register an FIR,”

they said.