The country’s initiative of Sainik schools established in 1961 conceived by the veteran V Krishna Iyer, who was then the defense Minister, feeds the Indian defense services and is supposed to be the epitome of discipline. But late in November there were stray incidents of ragging in the Tilaiya Sainik School and the Defense Minister A K Antony said on Monday to the parliament that the ministry is taking stock of the allegations and conducting a probe on the incidents.

Antony also said in reply to questions in the Lok Sabha that 11 such incidents had been reported in the last three years from the 24 Sainik Schools in the country which have a total 12,885 cadets. `Stray incidents of ragging and bullying have been reported from Sainik Schools in the past. In the last three years, for a total of 12,885 cadets in 24 schools, a total of 11 incidents have been reported,’ he said.

`In Sainik Schools, strict action has always been taken against the perpetrators in all reported and observed cases of ragging,’ he said. With regard to a particular incident of ragging in Tilaiya Sainik School reported in the media, he said no cadet or parent had complained or reported of any ragging to the school authorities in the last three years.

`As per records available in the last three years, no student has left the school due to ragging,’ he added. Antony also informed that a voluntary organization, Jharkhand Human Rights Movement, has approached the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights regarding the ragging incident in Tilaiya Sainik School and the commission had asked the defense ministry to get the matter investigated to take further necessary action.  The Jharkhand High Court had taken cognizance of the media reports and directed the state government authorities to investigate the matter.

It may be noted the country’s top most disciplined schools Sainik schools came into controversies of ragging when news channels aired footage of senior students beating up juniors, while the school   Jharkhand said the footage was at least a year old. The video showed at least seven students were being beaten up with belts by seniors. Later the Registrar of the School, Abhitabh Ranjan, presented one of the students, Sonu Satyam, before an education department official after the media reported that he had fled the school following the 'ragging'. He claimed that the purported video footage shown in the news channels appeared at least one year old. He added that a complaint box placed in the school, asking junior students write slips about ragging and put them inside it. So far no slip was found.

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