88 ragging cases, 12 deaths in last one year: Study

Andhra Pradesh topped the list with 12 ragging cases, followed by West Bengal (10), Uttar Pradesh (10) and Punjab (8), the report on Monday released by anti-ragging NGO Coalition to Uproot Ragging from Education claimed.

"The number of ragging cases reported in the media from July 2008 to June 2009 are 88, number of ragging deaths are 12 and number of attempted suicides are five," the study said.

During the same period last year, 89 ragging cases were reported, out of which 11 resulted in deaths. There were five attempted suicides too, said the group which regularly records and tabulates reports of ragging cases from the media.

"This clearly indicates that despite the tall claims made by the Human Resources and Development Ministry, the Union Grant Commission and various regulatory bodies, the situation has not improved," Harsh Aggarwal of CURE said.

"In the last academic session, Andhra Pradesh reported 12 incidents of ragging, including four cases of death and a case of attempted suicide. Punjab, even though a small state, has consistently reported high number of such incidents," he said.

Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, which did not report any ragging cases in the past, recorded high number of incidents this year (6 and 7 respectively).

Among the cases in HP was the death of medical student Aman Kachroo, which caused widespread outrage and prompted the Central and state governments to take a number of anti-ragging measures.