Ghaziabad, Aug 22 (IANS) A first year engineering student of a private engineering college here tried to commit suicide after being ragged by his seniors for about a month. Amit Verma later told the police that he was repeatedly ragged by seniors since he joined the Raj Kumar Goyal Institute of Technology (RKGIT) in Ghaziabad.

Verma, who has been admitted to a hospital, said he first complained about the ragging to his father, Bete Lal, a railway officer who took up the matter with the college.

“I stayed here for many days with my son to ensure nothing happens to him. I took the matter to the hostel warden. But strangely the warden told me that such ragging was very common and could not be stopped,” Lal said.

When Lal left Ghaziabad Aug 21, the ragging resumed.

On Friday, the seniors took Verma to a market in a car and made him drink alcohol laced with a sedative. Fed up, the student took pesticide in a bid to kill himself.

RKGIT director K.B. Nayak said: “We are trying to identify the boys involved in the incident. Strict action will be taken against the guilty. If the charges are proved correct, the guilty will be expelled from the college.”