Kochi plus one student alleges brutal assault by seniors after he resisted ragging

Kochi: Sixteen-year-old Deon Jojo, a Plus One student at St Thomas Higher Secondary School, Keezhillam in Ernakulam, returned home from school on Thursday evening unusually silent. He skipped dinner, locked himself in his room and went to bed without saying much, even though his mother asked him why he was upset. Hours later, shortly after 1 am, his mother Vini woke to frantic screams from inside his room.

“‘Don’t kill me…don’t kill me!’ he cried repeatedly in his sleep. We rushed to his room thinking he had seen a nightmare. We had no idea he had gone through something so horrifying at school even then as he refused to open up,” recalled his mother V Vini.

It was only the following night, after repeated persuasion by his family and close friends, that the Plus One student revealed what he alleged was a brutal ragging assault by a group of senior students inside the restroom of his school on Thursday afternoon.

The police have launched a probe and registered a case under provisions related to causing hurt and the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act, while the school has launched an internal inquiry.

‘Targeted because of his physique’
According to Deon's uncle, Sajan Varghese, the Plus One Science student had joined the school barely two weeks ago and was allegedly singled out by a group of Plus Two students because of his muscular physique.

An active teenager, Deon regularly worked out at a gym and also took up catering jobs to earn his own money.

“These boys had been conducting ragging in the school. They targeted Deon, but he wasn’t willing to yield to their demands. On Thursday morning, they asked him to unbutton and remove his clothes, but he refused. Since Deon is physically strong and muscular they did not confront him then and there,” Sajan alleged while speaking to Onmanorama.

The family said that the refusal appeared to have triggered the assault later that day. According to the family, the attack took place during the lunch break on Thursday.

As Deon walked towards the restroom with two classmates, a group of more than 20 senior students allegedly intercepted them. His friends were pushed away, while Deon was forced inside the restroom, which the family claimed was chosen because it was outside CCTV surveillance.

“There were around 10 to 20 seniors inside. The restroom was completely packed. He couldn’t even move his hands or legs to defend himself,” Sajan said. “They repeatedly kicked and punched him on his head, back, lower abdomen and thighs.”

Vini alleged that the abuse went beyond physical assault. “They forced him to remove his clothes and subjected him to acts of a sexual nature including hurting his private parts. We cannot even bring ourselves to say out loud some things they did to my son,” she said.

“They repeatedly hit him on the head. One of the boys finally said, ‘That’s enough, that’s enough,’ and only then did they stop. Deon collapsed to the floor. He said if it were any other child, they would have died on the spot,” she added.

Despite the alleged assault, Deon did not immediately tell anyone what had happened. According to the family, he attended the remaining classes before returning home on the school bus.

After opening up on Friday and revealing he was physically unwell, the family first took him to the Perumbavoor Government Hospital. Doctors, concerned about repeated blows to his head, referred him to the Ernakulam Government Medical College Hospital for further evaluation, even though there were no external injuries.

According to the family, the boy was in severe pain due to the beating he took. They also said the physical assault and emotional trauma caused Deon to lose nearly five to six kilograms within days, leaving him confined to bed and severely weakened.

Deon’s parents, Jojo Varghese, a retired bank employee and Vini, later lodged a complaint with the Kuruppampady Police, naming four students as primary accused while alleging that another 15 to 20 students were involved in the assault.

A police officer said a Social Background Report (SBR) had been prepared and submitted before the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board.

“We have submitted the report to the JJ Board by invoking relevant sections for causing physical hurt as well as the Anti-Ragging Act. The boy was visibly traumatised though he is better now. At present, he knows the names of four students, but there were others involved. We are working to identify the remaining students. The school will also submit a report,” the officer said

School launches internal inquiry
School principal Siji said the administration became aware of the incident only after the boy’s family contacted her on Friday night.

“I noticed a crowd near the restroom during the lunch break on Thursday. I saw seniors and juniors gathered near the bathroom and immediately sent two or three teachers to check. But the students had come out saying everything was fine and nothing happened. Neither Deon nor any other student reported any incident to us, either orally or in writing,” Siji said.

According to the principal, Deon’s mother contacted the school only on Friday night at around 9.45 pm to report the alleged assault. “Then only we got to know the intensity of the incident. I have asked them to come to the school on Saturday and talk but they said they would come on Monday,” Siji added.

The school convened an emergency meeting with the parents of the senior students and the PTA committee on Monday. Deon’s parents also met the principal.

“The senior students claim it was only a minor push-and-pull that began earlier at the bus stop. However, we are conducting a thorough internal inquiry. If the allegations are found to be true, strict disciplinary action will be taken, and the findings will be handed over to the police,” Siji said.