Adopting zero tolerance policy against ragging, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh has announced that any sort of ragging will be a cognisable offence and all forms of ragging have been banned inside and outside the campus.
The university has also declared Helpline Numbers and email for reporting any incident of ragging. A PU spokesman said any student who becomes a victim of ragging should immediately inform the concerned chairperson or warden as the case may be. Besides that the students can also complain to Dean Student Welfare, Dean Student Welfare (W), Deputy Registrar (DSW), Chief-Security Officer or Security Officers.
Any complaint can be lodged at DSW email dsw@pu.ac.in. Mobile numbers of the officers have also been published in the Handbook of Information and the PU website.
The Spokesman said abetment to ragging, criminal conspiracy to rag, unlawful assembly and rioting while ragging, public nuisance created during ragging, violation of decency and morals through ragging, injury to body, causing hurt or grievous hurt, wrong restraint, wrongful confinement, use of criminal force, assault as well as sexual offences or unnatural offences, extortion, criminal trespass, offences against property, criminal intimidation, physical or psychological humiliation and all such offences would be considered as Ragging.
Ragging could be punished with cancellation of admission, suspension from attending classes and academic privileges, withholding or withdrawing scholarship/fellowship and other benefits, debarring from appearing in any test or examination or other evaluation process.
It could also lead to withholding results, debarring from representing the institution in any regional, national or international meet, tournament, youth festival, etc., suspension or expulsion from the hostel, rustication from the institution and consequent debarring from admission to any other institution for a specified period, fine ranging between Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh, rigorous imprisonment upto three years. When the person committing or abetting the crime of ragging are not identified, the respective institution shall resort to collective punishment.
Dean Student Welfare, Navdeep Goyal said in 2013-14, no incident of ragging occurred in the campus and credit for this goes to the students, faculty and staff members of the PU. "We look forward to complete harmony in future also", he added.