Himachal: Sessions Court grants interim bail to Professor Ashok Kumar in student ragging case

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], January 3 (ANI): The sessions court on Saturday granted interim bail to the accused professor Ashok Kumar in the ragging case of the government college in Dharamshala. The court has sent notice to the state and the next hearing will be on January 12.
A 19-year-old second-year student of Government Degree College, Dharamshala, who died during treatment in Ludhiana in December. Her parents alleged that she was subjected to ragging, assault and sexual harassment at the college, which caused severe mental distress and deterioration of her health.
The Court has directed in the interim order that the applicant shall not be arrested in case FIR registered under section 75, 115(2) and 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)and section 3 of HP Education (Prohibition of Ragging) Act 2009 at police station Dharamshala, subject to furnishing his personal bond in the sum of Rs 25000.
However, the court directed that the applicant shall also join the investigation as and when directed by the police.
Based on a complaint filed by the victim's father, police later registered an FIR against three fellow students and a college professor under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act, 2009.
The police said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim's father, who alleged that on September 18, 2025, three female students assaulted and intimidated his daughter, while a professor sexually harassed her.
"Due to these reasons, his daughter was under severe stress, and her health deteriorated. She was treated at various hospitals and later died during treatment at DMC, Ludhiana, on December 26, 2025," police said.
The incident has also drawn the attention of the University Grants Commission (UGC), which has taken serious cognisance of the student's death at Government Degree College in Dharamshala.
Acting on media reports, the UGC Anti-Ragging Helpline registered a suo-motu complaint, even as the college administration has maintained that the case is a death and not a suicide. According to the UGC, a police enquiry into the incident is currently underway.
In parallel, the higher education regulator has already constituted a Fact-Finding Committee to examine all aspects of the case, including the circumstances leading to the student's death. (ANI)