The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken suo-motu cognisance of the tragic death of a 19-year-old Dalit student at a government college in Dharamsala in Himachal Pradesh and formed a committee to probe the incident.
The UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline has registered a complaint based on media reports, even as the college authorities have stated that the case is a death and not a suicide.
"A police inquiry is underway, and UGC has constituted a Fact-Finding Committee to examine the incident. The UGC assures that culprits will not be spared and that stringent action will be taken. Student safety is paramount," a senior UGC official said.
The student died on December 26 while undergoing treatment at a Ludhiana hospital. Her father alleged that she was beaten by three seniors—Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika—on September 18, 2025 and was sexually harassed by a college professor, Ashok Kumar.
He said his daughter went into severe mental stress and fear after those incidents, leading to a rapid deterioration in her health. Her condition worsened despite treatment at multiple hospitals, and she died on December 26.
"My daughter is no more. I need justice. The accused girls and the professor should be punished. What happened to my kid should not happen to anybody else,” the victim’s father told ANI.
Her mother, too, demanded a thorough investigation into the case. "I don't want any innocent to get caught. I want a thorough investigation; we have all her medical reports. I want justice for my daughter,” she said.
The three accused students have been booked for ragging and voluntarily causing hurt, while the professor has been booked on charges of sexual harassment.
