Mangaluru (The Hindu): The Mangaluru police have booked a case of ragging against 23 students of Srinivasa College of Pharmacy, even as Campus Front of India (CFI) activists attempted to barge into Mangaluru Rural police station on Saturday morning, alleging that the accused were being “targeted” and “falsely implicated”.

The case took a new turn by late Saturday evening when four girls, who were among the victims of alleged ragging, submitted a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) M. Shantaraju, accusing the college principal of “forcing” them to file the complaint.

Following the change in the version of the alleged victims, the city police decided to record their statements before a judicial magistrate. “We have moved the court. We are waiting for the date of the magistrate,” said Police Commissioner M. Chandra Sekhar.

Nine first-year B.Pharm. students from the college had reported to principal A.R. Shabaraya about alleged harassment by three final-year B.Pharm. students between August 27 and September 2. Four of the victims were girls. Based on the complaint filed on September 3 and statements of the victims, the Mangaluru Rural police registered a case.

Student arrested
On Saturday morning, the city police arrested Ameen Rinshad, one of three accused named in the complaint. Following this, CFI activists, led by district president Attaullah, landed at the station and accused the college administration of “targeting” students who had protested on August 27 against the college for not allowing women students to wear hijab (headscarf). The college had withdrawn the ban on wearing hijab in class following protests by students. The activists submitted a memorandum to Police Sub-Inspector Sudhakar, who said their grievance would be looked into by senior officers. When the activists refused to leave, the police forced them out of the premises.

Accusing the police of manhandling, two activists got admitted at the Government Wenlock Hospital. Meanwhile, Mr. Sudhakar and two police constables have also been admitted to the hospital as they were reportedly hit by the activists. The city police have registered a case against the activists for alleged obstruction in official discharge of duty.