Himachal student dies after alleged sexual assault, ragging

Shimla/Dharamshala: Three students of a government college in Himachal Pradesh’s Dharamshala have been booked for ragging and voluntarily causing hurt while a professor has been booked for sexual harassment of a 19-year-old woman who died on December 26, police said on Friday.

The woman student died during treatment at a Ludhiana hospital on December 26 and the case was registered on Thursday following a complaint by the father of the victim.

In his complaint, the deceased student’s father alleged that his daughter was beaten by three seniors, Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika, on September 18, 2025, while a college professor, Ashok Kumar, indulged in obscene acts with her.

Due to the beating and harassment, the student was hospitalised and she died during treatment, the complaint said. The father of the deceased woman alleged that following these incidents, his daughter went into severe mental stress and fear, leading to a rapid deterioration in her health.

He said that a police complaint could not be lodged earlier as his daughter was traumatised and had to be hospitalised.

A case under sections 75 (sexual harassment), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institution (Prohibition of) Ragging Act 2009 has been registered and investigations are underway, the police said.

Confirming that a case has been registered, Kangra Superintendent of Police (SP) Ashok Ratan said that all the allegations are being thoroughly investigated. Medical records, video evidence and statements of all concerned are being examined, he said.

The case gained momentum after a video of the victim on her deathbed went viral on social media. In the video, the victim accused the professor of indecent acts, mental harassment and intimidation when she protested against his behaviour.

The police said that a complaint was initially received through the Chief Minister’s Sankalp Seva Helpline and an investigation team but the student’s statement could not be recorded as she was unwell at the time. The police later recorded the statement of the victim’s father.