HOWRAH: A first year student of Calcutta Institute of Pharmaceutical Technology and Allied Health Sciences in Uluberia died mysteriously on Friday evening after he was allegedly ragged by some seniors, who routinely beat him and stopped him from taking a crucial test that day.

The victim, Akash Agarwal , was a pharmacy student and the bullies are from the engineering section on the same campus. Akash’s father claims he was murdered and the body thrown on railway tracks but the youth’s classmates say he killed himself. They say they are willing to reveal everything to police but not to the institute management.

The college authorities initially denied there was any ragging but later suspended five seniors who were named by Akash’s friends as his tormenters. This is the same institute where pharmacy student Nayan Adak committed suicide in 2009 after being brutally ragged.

Akash, 20, was from Gaya in Bihar. Around 7.15pm on Friday, his mutilated body was found on the tracks at Uluberia station. He had apparently been run over by a Kharagpur local. His classmates, who were already looking for him, rushed to the station on hearing that a body had been found. They identified him and told GRP that Akash had been ragged by seniors. GRP officers asked them to inform his family.

Akash’s classmates allege that five final-year CIT students had been harassing him ever since he joined college. On Friday, the bullies found him chatting with a girl classmate in the college canteen and allegedly passed lewd remarks. Akash objected to this but was beaten up. The seniors also prevented him from sitting for a test on Friday. College authorities, however, refused to say whether he had taken the test.

“Around 6.15pm, Akash returned to hostel and borrowed a cycle from a batchmate. He handed him his cellphone and said he would return in a while. He looked extremely depressed. After some time we heard of a body lying on the railway tracks,” one of Akash’s classmates said.

College director Rabindranath Debnath insisted he had no information of ragging on campus. “I heard that Akash was found in a compromising position with a girl in the canteen by seniors. There was an argument but no assault. I have no information of ragging. I was on campus till 6.30pm on Friday. Hostel superintendents Debangshu Jana and D K Hati said they were shopping in Uluberia. We are holding our own inquiry. The anti-ragging and disciplinary committees of the college have already met,” he said.

Akash’s father Ashok Agarwal has filed a complaint against unidentified persons. “We spoke to him around 5pm on Friday. He sounded very depressed. When we asked about the test, he tried to evade the topic and said he would speak to us later at night. He said that there were a lot of things that he wanted to tell us. College authorities didn’t give us all the details. We believe they encouraged such activities. The seniors and the college are responsible for my son’s death. Akash would never commit suicide. He was murdered,” Agarwal said.

When Kharagpur railway police superintendent Joy Biswas and Howrah additional SP Indra Chakraborty visited the campus on Saturday evening they ran into a student agitation demanding punishment for the accused. “We have spoken to students and college authorities. Investigations are on,” said Uluberia SDPO Shyamal Samanta.