BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WLKI)- Seven Indiana University fraternity members face felony charges in a hazing case that sent two pledges to the hospital with a serious medical condition.
Each student is charged with two counts of hazing. Phi Kappa Psi President Arjunkumar Patel also faces a felony obstruction of justice charge.
Court records say the seven students were members of the fraternity's Member Education Committee and were involved in an October 2025 hazing event affecting more than two dozen pledges.
Investigators say the pledges were ordered to perform strenuous exercises for about three hours in a room with no furniture except a metal trough filled with ice water.
The exercises allegedly included "brother squats," in which pledges locked arms and continued squatting together until exhausted.
Two pledges were later hospitalized and diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a potentially serious condition in which skeletal muscle tissue breaks down and releases proteins and enzymes into the bloodstream.
Both pledges reported thigh pain and difficulty walking. One also reported dark urine. They remained hospitalized for several days.
Court records say Patel contacted one of the hospitalized pledges and allegedly told him to claim the injuries happened while working out at a gym. Patel is also accused of instructing the pledge to delete the messages.
Witnesses identified Joseph Moon as the member who directly oversaw the hazing and decided which activities pledges would perform. The other charged members were allegedly present during the event.
Phi Kappa Psi was placed under a cease-and-desist order October 21, 2025, and Indiana University says the fraternity remains suspended.
The charges are allegations. The students are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.