Shimla, July 18: Four senior medical students accused of ragging fresher Aman Satya Kachru to death in a case that made headlines last year have received bail from a fast-track court.

Aman’s father Raj Kachru, who has launched an NGO to combat ragging, said the Himachal Pradesh court’s decision would send out “a wrong message”.

Judge Purinder Vaidya granted bail to Ajay Verma, Naveen Verma, Abhinav Verma and Mukul Sharma, who have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, against bonds of Rs 50,000 each.

The judgment said bail was being granted because witness statements had been recorded and material evidence taken into account.

On the night of March 6 last year, the four accused had allegedly ragged 13 first-year students in a hostel room at the Dr Rajender Prasad Medical College in Tanda, 30km from Dharamshala. Aman, 19, died of head injuries two days later.

Aman’s signed complaint said: “Dr Ajay Verma slapped me seven times.”

The medical college principal allegedly tried to shield the accused because one of them, Abhinav, is the son of an assistant professor at the Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla. The four seniors have also been accused in another ragging case, pending in a Kangra court.

“The (bail) decision is a big disappointment…. We are not driven by vengeance but their being out on bail conveys a wrong message,” Aman’s father said.

Raj said the anti-ragging hotline set up by the Centre had proved ineffective.

“Last year, the Supreme Court passed an order asking the government to execute a well-designed and properly researched plan that is ready for implementation, but nothing has happened. The token gesture of a call centre has also failed because it was done very poorly,” he alleged.

Raj, who has set up the Aman Movement for the Eradication of Ragging, said he visited the offices of the University Grants Commission and the human resource development ministry every day but “nothing is moving”.

“Now, the top people there don’t even talk to me. The peon says, ‘You are wasting your time’. I get frustrated at times and even cry,” Raj said. “(But) I will continue to go every day and seek justice for students who undergo ragging.”