Krishani Nadarajah lost appeal in a New Jersey court.
AB Wire
An Indian American student at William Paterson University, Krishani Nadarajah, was suspended for one year for indulging in ‘exorcism’ activities on campus, along with another student. A State Appeal Court upheld the decision of the court, earlier this week.
Another student, Jedediah Rockwell, was also suspended by the university located in New Jersey for the same offense which involved taking on ‘alter-egos’, which was officially termed as ‘cult-like’ hazing.
The court described those activities by what was apparently a small, unofficial group of students in its ruling Monday, as it denied an appeal filed by Rockwell and Nadarajah, who were found responsible for hazing, and in one case, assault, by a university hearing board. Their appeal sought to overturn the results of the hearing, reported NJ.com.
Both denied any wrongdoing, but said some non-violent “rough housing” was part of their role-playing games. Rockwell admitted at the hearing that the group did conduct “some kind of exorcism or ‘meditation session,’ ” the court wrote.
The board’s action followed reports of “cult-like” activity filed with police at the state university by an unnamed female student, who said she had been the victim of hazing, assault and an exorcism in April 2013, the NJ.com reported.
The woman said the incidents occurred after she began “casually dating” another William Paterson student and then started associating with his group of friends, the court said.
At a “small gathering” in a dorm room at William Paterson, the group members told her “about demons and spirits,” and explained that they had “alters,” or “alter egos,” which would take hold of members of the group without warning, the woman said in reports filed with university police, the court said.
During this gathering, the woman said, Nadarajah switched to one of her alters and began having a seizure and foaming at the mouth, according to the court.
The woman said she then tried to leave the group and told the man she was dating that she was “concerned about the mental health of all its members,” but he told her no one would believe her and that she was crazy, the court said.
Afterwards, the man and others tried to convince the woman that she was possessed by a spirit named “Olivia,” who the group claimed was raped as a young adult and also had sexually assaulted and baby-sat Rockwell, the court wrote.
Later that month, the woman said in a report, she was placed on “lock-down” in Nadarajah’s dorm room and was not permitted to take her asthma medication or sleep in her own room as the group performed an exorcism on her, the report said.
The woman said that when she tried to “escape” the room, she was held down and told the lock-down was “for her own good,” to get rid of the demonic spirit, Olivia.
In an attempt to free the woman of being “possessed” by “Olivia,” Nadarajah repeatedly slapped her in the face and Rockwell slapped her and placed his hand around her throat, she told campus police.
At the end of the lock-down, the group attempted to perform an exorcism on her in WPU’s outdoor volleyball court, splashing holy water on her face and chanting in Latin, the woman told authorities. Afterwards, they told her she was no longer possessed.
In her interview, Nadarajah said she believed the woman was a “pathological liar that does not know how to act in certain social situations,” the court wrote.
Asked specifically about the woman’s allegations, Nadarajah said her memory was “not good” because of her epilepsy but denied any wrong doing. She also denied placing the woman on lock-down.
No criminal charges appear to have been filed against either one, according to attorney John Iaciofano, whose firm represented both of them.
In its decision, the court wrote that both students had completed their punishments, but were now seeking to remove these Student Code of Conduct Violations from their student records.
The students’ appeal claimed that WPU had violated the “requisite due process.” However, the court ruled the university had met that burden by giving them notice of the hearing and notice of the charges.
The Daily Beat reported Nadarajah has epilepsy that the activities were all in good fun, and were misconstrued by the university.