A report released by Coalition to Uproot Ragging From Education (CURE), a group of professionals campaigning against ragging, last month stated that Bengal tops the list along with Punjab in the number of ragging deaths as both the states have reported four deaths or suicides allegedly by ragging in the last academic year. Apart from this, 13 complaints of ragging were registered in Bengal during the same period.

“West Bengal has reported one of the worst kind of raggings — beginning from drug and alcohol abuse to forcing students to smoke. Some times reports about extortion of money from students have also come up,” said Harsha Agarwal, co-founder of CURE.

According to Agarwal, one of worst cases of death from ragging in the state was of Nayan Adak. “He twice attempted suicide after he was ragged but we could not save him,” added Agarwal.

The CURE has compiled the data on the basis of reports that appeared in the media.

“Very few instances of ragging are actually reported as almost 99 percent cases go unnoticed,” said Agarwal.

In 2009, ten cases relating to ragging were reported in the state — the second highest in the country.

Similarly between July 2003 and June 2008, about 30 cases of ragging were reported in the state — the highest in the country.

The CURE report also states that during the last academic year about 20 parents and students from various engineering colleges in the state called on the UGC helpline number that is devoted to reporting ragging incidents.

As per the members of CURE, the anti-ragging legislation alone is not sufficient to controlling the growing menace.

Sabyasanchi Sengupta, the vice-chancellor of West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT), said it has taken several measures to control ragging inside the campus and have even warned the colleges.

“We have also spoken to each students and instructed the colleges to take action in this regard,” said Sengupta.

Various government and private engineering colleges in the state are affiliated to the WBUT.

With the latest incident of an 18-year-old student left severely traumatised by ragging at an engineering college in Siliguri, the vice-chancellor admitted that the situation in West Bengal is alarming. He, however, added: “The rate of sadism among the students is as bad as in other parts of the country.”

Case file
The West Bengal government enacted Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institutions Act, ten years ago.

List of ragging related deaths in state
Nayan Adak (19): The first year student of Calcutta Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Allied Health Sciences at Uluberia in Howrah was found hanging from his home in Tamluk on October 9, 2009, a month after he was allegedly ragged by his seniors.

Adak had also attempted to commit suicide a month ago by drinking pesticides after his seniors allegedly slashed his wrist with used syringes. He was hospitalised for a few days but was taken back to the college by his father who had spent about Rs 60,000 on his studies.

Anirban Dutta (19): a student of Siliguri-based polytechnic college, committed suicide by hanging himself at his home in Burdwan on August 24, 2009

Supriya ChatTerjee (22): Was undergoing psychological treatment after being ragged, was allegedly beaten to death at a rehab centre in Nadia district in September, 2009.