While the suicide of BJB College’s Plus Three first-year student Ruchika Mohanty has rocked the State, police have begun a probe to ascertain the senior students who abetted the suicide.
A team of the State Commission for Women (SCW) also went to the hostel and questioned the students and the college authorities.
Ruchika’s mother said a freshers’ party was held in the hostel recently while the seniors had stopped the event in order to showcase their dominance.
Ruchika was being mentally harassed by the seniors regularly after the party, her mother said, adding that they had threatened the girl not to disclose the incident.
She has lodged a complaint at the Badagada police station in this connection. A case has been registered under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC.
A classmate of Ruchika said on the condition of anonymity that some boarders of the girls’ hostel, who are students of Science stream, were harassing the deceased.
Police were questioning the classmates of Ruchika and second year and third year degree students residing in the hostel.
Ruchika, who hailed from Athagarh in Cuttack district, was found dead on a bed in her room in the hostel with a rope tied around her neck on Saturday. It is being suspected that she died by suicide.
A note, suspected to have been written by Ruchika, was found near the body. In the note, it has been mentioned that she was under depression after being constantly ragged and tortured by three of her seniors. The trio has been held responsible for the death, in the note.
However, the deceased has not mentioned the names of the students.
In a statement, Hostel superintendent Jyoti Rath said when her roommates left to attend classes at around 10 am, Ruchika stayed back and locked the room from inside. When she did not open the door till late, students raised an alarm. Later, college authorities broke open the door to find her dead.