Ranchi, Jan. 20: St Xavier?s College authorities today washed its hands of the incident in the Hatia-Kharagpur passenger train yesterday in which 18 students of the college were arrested for misbehaving with the passengers.
The students, who were on their way to Kharagpur to attend the Spring Fest at IIT, were arrested at Bankura after some passengers complained about their misbehaviour.
The college authorities termed students? trip as ?unofficial? and said the students had gone ?at their own risk?. They said they had restricted the students from attending the festival even after receiving an invitation.
St Xavier?s College principal Nicholas Tete said, ?The visit was unofficial. We had received an invitation from IIT, Kharagpur, but I asked the students not to attend it as our own festival was round the corner. Last year, too, we had a bad representation there. So I did not allow them to go on the trip.?
The students, including seven girls, were arrested under 290 of IPC. Around 2.30 pm the GRP officials received a complaint from a passenger of the train about the rash behaviour of the students.
The officer-in-charge of Bankura GRP, B. Haldar, said: ?The male students were all drunk and so were some of the girls. The students were indulging in indecent behaviour inside the compartment.?
The Bankura station manager also received a call from a passenger travelling in the train complaining about the students. The GRP arrested the students when the train reached the Bankura railway station. ?Some were drunk while others made lewd gestures. When the co-passengers reacted, the group did not listen to them. One of the students had some contacts in Bankura and bail was given to them from the police station itself,? said Haldar.
Sources said, there were altogether 35 students inside the compartment, but the rest managed to escape. Those arrested, including the girls, were made to undergo medical tests that conformed that some of them were drunk.
Railway authorities here in the Ranchi maintained their ignorance about the incident as it did not take place in their division.
