A college professor and three students have been booked on the charge of ragging, sexual harassment and death of a 19-year-old girl student at Government Degree College in Dharamsala, police officials said on Thursday night.
An FIR has been registered under Sections 75, 115(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 3 of the Himachal Pradesh Educational Institutions (Prohibition of Ragging) Act, 2009, against college professor Ashok Kumar and three girl students, namely Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika, at the Dharamsala police station.
The victim’s father, Vikram Kumar, a resident of Sidhbari in Dharamsala, had lodged a complaint with the local police. According to the police, the complainant stated that his daughter Pallavi (19) was a second-year student of Government Degree College, Dharamsala. He alleged that on September 18, 2025, three girl students of the same college, identified as Harshita, Aakriti and Komolika, had physically assaulted and intimidated his daughter. He alleged that Ashok Kumar, a professor of the college, had subjected Pallavi to obscene acts.
The complainant told the police that following the alleged harassment and intimidation, his daughter became extremely frightened and mentally disturbed, leading to a serious decline in her health. She was initially treated at different hospitals in Himachal Pradesh as her condition continued to worsen, he added.
Subsequently, Pallavi was referred to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, where she died during treatment on December 26, 2025.
Vikram Kumar stated that he could not report the matter to the police earlier as his daughter remained critically ill and traumatised for a prolonged period. The family was also in deep shock following her death, leading to the delay in lodging the complaint.
The police officials said that after examining the complaint and a preliminary inquiry, a case had been registered against the three students and the college teacher. The investigation would examine the allegations of ragging, physical assault, intimidation and sexual misconduct as well as the sequence of events that allegedly had led to the student’s deteriorating health and death, a senior police official said.
He added that the statements of Pallavi’s classmates, teachers, college authorities and family members would be recorded during the course of investigation.
The medical records from hospitals where Pallavi was treated, including the Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, were being collected to ascertain the cause of death and establish any link with the alleged incidents.
SP Ashok Rattan said that an investigation was under way and all aspects of the case would be investigated thoroughly and impartially
On September 18, 2025, three girl students of the same college had physically assaulted and intimidated his daughter
He alleged that Ashok Kumar, a professor of the college, had subjected Pallavi to obscene acts