The Principal District and Sessions Court in Kottayam, Kerala, on Thursday (April 10) granted bail to the five accused in the ragging case reported from the men’s hostel of the Government Nursing College, Kottayam.

The court considered various factors, including the age of the accused, before allowing the bail plea. All five had been in judicial custody for over 50 days. As per the bail conditions, the accused are prohibited from engaging in any criminal or civil offenses and are strictly barred from attempting to influence witnesses. They are also required to appear before the court whenever summoned.

The accused have been identified as K.P. Rahul Raj, Samuel Johnson, N.S. Jeeva, C. Rijil Jith, and N.V. Vivek.

Chargesheet

The police have already filed a chargesheet in the case before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court, Ettumanoor. According to the chargesheet, the victims were subjected to brutal physical and mental torture by the accused. The chargesheet, filed 46 days after the case was registered, also lists around 40 witnesses.

The incident came to light after the college authorities forwarded a complaint from a student to the Gandhinagar police on February 11, following which five senior students were taken into custody.