KULLU: One of the three accused women students in the alleged ragging and sexual harassment case at Dharamshala Govt college, in which their 19-year-old classmate died last month on December 26, denied all charges. In a video posted on social media, she claimed that neither of them was involved in ragging nor had witnessed any such harassment occurring in the college.”We were all classmates in BA first year. How is it possible that we ragged our own classmate? Also, we all belong to the Scheduled Caste community and can’t possibly harass someone who belongs to the same caste as we do. I am so puzzled and can’t understand why such allegations were made against me,” the student stated in the video. “We were told by a student that a third-year student ragged her. But that was it, and there was no proof. We knew nothing more than that,” she added.The student further alleged that the deceased was scared of her father, as he was “very strict”. In the video, she also supported the accused associate professor, saying he was innocent and had never made the victim feel uncomfortable.The teachers of the college also came out in support of the associate professor, who was suspended Saturday, two days after a police case was registered against him and the three women students. In a statement, the teachers claimed that the accused professor had an “unblemished record and impeccable integrity” and, as far as “the casteist allegations are concerned, the teacher himself belongs to the OBC category and the claims seem to be far from the truth.”Acting on the complaint filed by the deceased student’s father, police registered a case against the accused associate professor and three women students under BNS Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 115(2) (causing hurt), and 3(5) (common intention), and Section 3 of Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act 2009.
