UGC sets up panel to probe Dharamshala college student death

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Saturday ordered a probe into the death of a student at a government college in Himachal Pradesh's Dharamshala following allegations of ragging, according to officials. The UGC has set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident. "UGC has taken serious cognisance of the tragic death of a student at Govt. Degree College, Dharamshala. The UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline registered a suo-motu complaint based on media reports alleging ragging leading to suicide, while the college authorities have stated that the case is a death and not a suicide," a senior Education Ministry official said.

According to police, three students — Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika — have been booked for ragging and voluntarily causing hurt, while a professor, Ashok Kumar, has been booked for sexual harassment. The woman died during treatment at a Ludhiana hospital on December 26. The case was registered on January 1 following a complaint by her father. In his complaint, the father alleged that his daughter was beaten by the three senior students on September 18, 2025, and that the professor indulged in obscene acts with her. Due to the beating and harassment, the student was hospitalised and later died during treatment, the complaint said. A case has been registered under Sections 75 (sexual harassment), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act, 2009.

The case gained momentum after a video purportedly showing the student on her deathbed surfaced on social media. In the video, the woman accused the professor of indecent acts, mental harassment and intimidation after she objected to his behaviour. Preliminary investigations revealed that the student was enrolled in the college in 2024, allegedly faced ragging and failed her BA first-year examination. She stopped attending college after the results were declared in July 2025, and her name was struck off the rolls on August 21, 2025. She is believed to have visited the college again in September seeking admission, where she was informed that she would be admitted to the second year only if she cleared the re-evaluation, failing which she would have to re-enrol in the first year.