Kachroo ragging case: Convicts get nod to rejoin college

Four medical college students convicted for ragging to death their junior Aman Kachroo would now return to the classroom as the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) Saturday allowed them to complete their studies.

The conviction of Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, who were punished for the 2009 ragging death of Kachroo, was upheld by the Himachal Pradesh High Court in April.

The university executive council, chaired by Vice chancellor A.D.N. Bajpai, has allowed the convicts to continue their MBBS degree, an HPU statement said.

The permission was given on the convicts' request, it said.

The three convicts were third-year MBBS students, while the fourth, Ajay Verma, was an intern at the time of the incident.

Kachroo, 19, was a student of the Rajendra Prasad Medical College and Hospital at Tanda town in Kangra district since 2007. He died March 8, 2009 after he was ragged by his four drunk seniors.

Reacting to the HPU's decision to readmit the students, Aman's father Rajender Kachroo told IANS over telephone from Gurgaon in Haryana: "We have nothing to do with this."

He had earlier said: "I am not against rehabilitation but that doesn't mean they should be given the same position as earlier."

"The decision to readmit them is a major setback in this direction. It may be symbolic (to readmit them) but it has the large dimension in the context of the campaign," said Kachroo, currently monitoring the National Ragging Prevention Programme on behalf of the University Grants Commission.

Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, who were convicted by a trial court in Dharamsala Nov 11, 2010 spent three years and five months in jail before the state government waived off their remaining seven-month jail term in August last year.

They were earlier held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, house-trespass, assault or wrongful restraint under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Upholding their conviction by the trial court, the high court in April rejected their appeal seeking relief and enhanced the fine from Rs.10,000 to Rs.100,000 each.