Kalyansinghpur: Senior students of Government SSD High School at Rivalkana under Kolnara block in Rayagada district allegedly beat up their junior counterparts with coconut fronds and sticks over the weekend. The matter came to the fore after a video of the incident showing senior students assaulting over 30 students of Classes VIII and IX went viral in social media platforms.
After the video went viral, authorities launched an investigation into the alleged ragging incident of junior pupils in the school. The incident occurred at the hostel of the high school, which is managed by the Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste Development department.
According to school officials and students, several Class X students allegedly beat about 30 students from Classes VIII and IX with coconut fronds and sticks this Saturday and Sunday. Hostel in-charge and teacher Dambarudhar Tripathy said the accused students have been expelled from the hostel after the incident came to light. Headmaster Pratap Saunta filed a written complaint with Chandili police, who have registered a case and launched an investigation. Kolnara Block Welfare Extension Officer Debasish Munda also visited the school to conduct an inquiry.
According to the victims, the assault followed their failure to report during the roll call for a campus cleaning activity because they were busy playing cricket. They alleged the senior students later summoned them, beat them and warned them not to disclose the incident. The episode surfaced two days later after a video of the assault circulated on social media platforms, raising questions about hostel supervision. The incident has also prompted scrutiny over how mobile phones, which are prohibited on campus, were used to record the assault. Tripathy said regular counselling sessions had been conducted, but the victims were too frightened to report the abuse earlier.
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