MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is planning to set up a high-level committee comprising the Governor and Chief Minister to tackle ragging cases in the state, taking serious cognisance of the suicide of a law student in Pune recently.

"We have proposed a high level committee comprising the Governor, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister and the Ministers related to education field to monitor the issue," Higher and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Tope told PTI.

The Government is very serious over ragging complaints and wants the cases to be stopped, Tope said, adding the proposal has been referred to Chief Minister Ashok Chavan for approval.

It was mooted considering one of the recommendations of the Raghavan Committee report to curb ragging, the minister said. The Government would also introduce a day awareness programme in all the colleges from the coming academic year to inform them about anti-ragging law. "Students feel helpless and frustrated due to lack of knowledge about anti-ragging law. We want them to know the law and where they should approach for complaint on the first day of their college," Tope said.

The anti-ragging law in the state is very stringent and students indulging in ragging would also know the consequences, Tope said. According to the Act, students found guilty of ragging would be rusticated from college and would not be given admission in any other college for next five years, the minister said.

There is also a provision for imprisonment upto two years and fine, he added. A second year Law student from Pune, Prashant Chitalkar committed suicide due to ragging by the seniors on Sunday. Earlier this month, 18 students including some interns at the Seth G S Medical College and KEM hospital here were arrested for ragging freshers on new year eve. Though they were released on bail, the college authorities expelled them from the hostel.