New Delhi, August 25
IANS
A week after an engineering student of the Manipal Institute of Technology
(MIT) was drowned in the sea during an alleged ragging session, the
institute on Tuesday claimed it was a case of accident.
Ehsan Saba went to the beach near the college with eight of his classmates
voluntarily and there were no seniors with them, MIT director BS Prabhu
said in a statement, denying reports that the death was due to ragging.
"On realising that Saba was missing, the MIT chief warden immediately
alerted both the Coast Guard and the police to organise a search,"
he said. The institute is located in Manipal, Karnataka.
"The college authorities have repeatedly discouraged students
from visiting this beach due to the currents," Prabhu said.
The institute's clarification came in the wake of Saba's father Mohammad
Sabahuddin contemplating filing a suit in the Supreme Court against
MIT for the death of his son, allegedly due to ragging.
"The college's negligence is responsible for my son's death,"
Sabhauddin, a doctor working in Saudi Arabia, had said on August 21.
The NRI doctor also said his son's leg and hands were broken, suspecting
that Saba was beaten up before being pushed into the sea after he refused
to jump on his own as part of the ragging.
Saba was admitted to MIT through the NRI quota on August 12. He died
August 17, a day after he began attending classes.
"The entire management team, staff and the student fraternity
of Manipal Institute of Technology express deep anguish over the untimely
death of our student", Prabhu said.
Patna, August 21, 2004
IANS
An non-resident Indian (NRI) from Bihar plans to file a suit in the
Supreme Court against the Manipal Engineering College in Karnataka for
the death of his son during alleged ragging at the institute.
Mohammad Sabahuddin, a doctor working in Saudi Arabia,
said he would move the apex court against the college authorities for
failing to prevent the ragging that apparently led to the death of his
17-year-old son Ehsan Saba.
The pain of losing his only son writ large on his face,
Sabahuddin told IANS, "The college's negligence is responsible
for my son's death".
Saba, a student of first year computer engineering in
the Manipal Engineering College, died early this week when some senior
students allegedly pushed him into the sea after he refused to jump
in while being ragged.
Sabahuddin, a native of Bihar, said he would not be
able to pursue the case if it was filed in Bangalore as he was an NRI.
"The only option for me is to file a case in the Supreme Court.
"What were the college authorities doing when nine
students left their hostel without permission and went to the sea beach
with my son? Who is responsible for this?" he asked.