Thiruvananthapuram: Three nursing students in Kalburgi (Gulbarga) in Karnataka, accused of hazing a junior colleague from Kerala, have been remanded in judicial custody for two weeks.
The incident, which took place last week had raised concern in Kerala, particularly because the girl belonged to the Dalit community, came from a financially backward family and had signed up for the nursing course in Karnataka after taking an education loan of Rs300,000 (Dh16,231).
Officials at Al Qamar College, where the incident occurred, denied any hazing having taken place, but the 18-year-old victim, K.P. Aswathy, who is now under treatment in Kerala, told police that she had been force-fed floor-cleaning solution by some senior students.
The three remanded in custody are also from Kerala, and have been identified as Lakshmi, Athira and Krishnapriya. They were arrested on Friday evening, and produced before a magistrate late in the night. Police are on the lookout for another girl accused in the incident, who is also from Kerala.
Aswathy is undergoing treatment at the Kozhikode Medical College. Family members said the cleaning liquid burned her throat and windpipe. Aswathy had joined the college just five months back. Police have not been able to take her statement because of her health condition.
The federal Human Rights Commission in Delhi, meanwhile, directed the state government and the Kozhikode district authorities to file a report on the incident and the action taken thus far.