Dharamshala student’s death leads to FIR over ragging, sexual assault; seniors, professor booked

According to investigators, the student recorded a video on her mobile phone before her death, detailing alleged mental and sexual harassment she faced on campus.

In the video, she accused a professor of inappropriate physical contact and sustained mental harassment, and alleged that she was threatened when she protested.

In a complaint filed by the student’s father, he alleged that on September 18, three female students — identified as Harshita, Akriti and Komolika — subjected his daughter to brutal ragging and assaulted her, warning her to remain silent.

The complaint also named Ashok Kumar, a professor at Dharamshala’s Government Degree College, as one of the accused.

The father said his daughter remained under severe stress due to the professor’s alleged indecent behaviour and mental harassment, which led to a steady deterioration in her health.

She was treated at multiple hospitals before she died on December 26 while undergoing treatment at DMC Hospital in Ludhiana.

The family said they were initially unable to file a complaint due to the shock of her death, but decided to approach the authorities after recovering the video recorded by the student.

The father also claimed he had submitted complaints to the police and the chief minister’s helpline on December 20, but received no response.

Police officer Ashok Rattan said a case has been registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009.

He said the investigation initially focused on ragging, but has now expanded following allegations against the professor. The probe will also examine the medical treatment the student received at various hospitals prior to her death.

The college administration has distanced itself from the allegations. Principal Rakesh Pathania said the student had failed three subjects in her first year and, under university guidelines, was not eligible for promotion to the second year.

“She approached a geography professor, her main subject teacher, and was informed that she would need to seek admission to the first year again. She appeared distressed over her academic results and believed she was being deliberately denied admission,” Pathania said.

He added that, according to college records, the student had not attended classes since July 29.

The principal claimed the college attempted to contact the student’s parents but received no response, and asserted that no complaint regarding ragging or harassment had been filed with the institution.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy on ragging and several women faculty members are part of the anti-ragging committee. We did not receive any such complaint,” he said, adding that the college is cooperating with the police investigation.

Police said further action will be taken based on the findings of the ongoing probe.