Ragging death: Four charged with murder

Shimla, March 11 (IANS) Four students of a medical college in Himachal Pradesh arrested for allegedly beating to death a junior in the name of ragging have been slapped with murder charges, police said Wednesday.

Aman Kachru, 19, died Sunday after being ragged by four final year students of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College at Tanda town, 20 km from Kangra. All the four students have been sent to police custody, Kangra Superintendent of Police Atul Kumar Fulzele told IANS.

Fulzele said Mukul Sharma and Abhinav Verma, who surrendered in a court in Dharamsala Tuesday, will be questioned till March 16. The other two - Ajay Verma and Naveen Verma - will be questioned till Friday.

According to the police officer, one of the prime suspects is the son of a senior faculty member.

'The autopsy report says head injury is the main cause of the death,' Fulzele said.

He said no case had been registered against college authorities. 'If some lapses on the part of the college management come to light, a case will be registered against the college authorities too,' he said.

Meanwhile, college principal Suresh Sankhyan, who resigned Monday, has been replaced by Anil Chauhan, head of the department of ophthalmology, Himachal Pradesh Health Minister Rajeev Bindal said.

Bindal said a magisterial inquiry had been ordered to find out if the college failed to prevent the ragging. 'Once the report comes, action will be taken against erring officials if any,' he said.

'At this point it's difficult to comment on the negligence of college authorities in checking sadistic acts on the campus and delay in providing treatment to the victim,' the minister said.