Seven year jail to accused in ragging case in Himachal

Dharamshala: Justice was finally delivered in a seven years old case when a court in Dharamshala sentenced four accused to seven year rigorous imprisonment for stabbing a student of Shaheed Vikram Batra Degree College in Palampur in the year 2003.

The court of additional sessions Judge Rajiv Bhardwaj convicted Vikas Chauhan, Sachin Pal, Saurav Sood and Gaurav Sood for the murder of Amit Thakur. The fifth accused Sanjeev Sharma who was a minor at the time of the incident has been transferred to a juvenile court.

All the four convicted by the court were currently on bail and taken into custody after the judgement was  pronounced.  The court also imposed a fine of Rs.  25,000 each on the four accused.

The case pertains to the year 2003 when Amit Thakur, a student of the Shaheed Vikram Batra Degree College at Palampur was attacked by the five youths. Ajay Dohru friend of the deceased Amit Thakur had alleged that the five youth had attacked them with sharp edged weapon when they tried to prevent them from ragging the freshers in the college on August 20, 2003.

Dohru stated in the compliant that while he and his other friend Manisha Walia sustained cuts on the body, the group of five boys stabbed Amit Thakur in abdomen. The police had then registered a case of attempt to murder under section 307 of the IPC.

Later, on November 11 after Amit died at Christian Medical College Ludhiana police booked the five accused for murder under section 302.  Amit Thakur’s autopsy reports confirmed his death due to deep wound caused by stabbing in abdomen. Stabbing had damaged the pancreas of the deceased.

Ravinder Thakur, father of Amit Thakur, was also present in the court said he had full faith in judiciary and also had high hopes.  ‘I had dreamt to send my son abroad for further studies’ said Ravinder a retired soldier from Indo Tibetan Border Police.

Violence on account of ragging on campuses has been rampant across the state for decades. It was only after the death of Aman Kachru, which led to a national uproar that the state government brought legislation in the assembly to declare ragging as an offence.