Forced to drink phenyl, ragged Dalit student from Kerala struggles to survive

Senior students at Al Qamar College of Nursing in Gulbarga, Karnataka, while ragging a 19-year-old nursing student from Kozhikode, Kerala, forced her to drink phenyl which burnt her food pipe and damaged her internal organs.

The Dalit girl is now in hospital in her home town, battling for her life. She had apparently been subjected to verbal and physical abuse by her seniors, according to the Hindustan Times.

While surgery is essential, doctors said that her internal organs are too damaged for a safe operation. "It is too dangerous to conduct a surgery now," said a doctor at the government hospital in Kozhikode.

The girl's parents said that the Gulbarga police refused to register their complaint against eight senior students who allegedly forced the girl to drink phenyl.

"We shifted her to Kerala last week. Besides police, the college management too tried to hush up the case. Our first priority was to save her life ... so we kept quiet," said a relative. He added: "We were warned against speaking to anyone about this."

The Kerala government will pay the girl's medical bills, said Kerala SC/ST and culture minister AK Balan, and will take up the issue with the Karnataka government.