Coimbatore, Agra, Meerut: MBBS students RAGGED at Three Medical Colleges, 4 Medicos suspended

Chennai: Ragging menace seems to have made its home in the country's medical colleges with three incidents of junior MBBS students being ragged by their seniors being reported from three different medical colleges in just a matter of a week.

As per media accounts, two medical colleges are yet to take any action on the alleged incidents; while one medical college managed to take the plunge and suspended four MBBS students after the Anti-ragging committee conducted an inquiry after receiving a complaint about the same.

SN Medical College (AGRA)

The fear of ragging has prevailed in the Sarojini Naidu (SN) Medical College premises after instances of crudely abusive and obscene ragging were reported by the victim first-year MBBS students.

According to Jagran, the senior MBBS students have found a bizarre approach to rag the juniors by way of sending obscene text messages and forcing these students to read them in front of them after classes. If the junior MBBS Medicos resisted, they were threatened and beaten up by the seniors.

OneIndia reports that the seniors had sent a 7-page message in which they wrote all the text in vulgar language which included regular reminders, ways to introduce themselves, medical college's oath, and definitions of body parts (female), a definition of the medical court as well as the law of Newton among other subjects.

The matter came to light after a number of students filed complaints with the Anti-Ragging Cell. However, even after receiving the complaint, no action has been taken against the abusive attackers and the messages have been allegedly deleted from the victim-students' phones leaving no proof for the misdemeanour, states the media report in OneIndia.

Coimbatore Medical College

The management at Coimbatore Medical College (CMC) has recently suspended 4 third-year MBBS students for one year from the college hostel and one of them for a month from college; on account of allegedly ragging a second-year medico a couple weeks ago.

The action follows a complaint lodged with the Anti-Ragging Portal of the Government about ragging by third-year MBBS students on college premises.

Following the complaint filed by the second year MBBS student, the Anti-Ragging Committee initiated an inquiry on the matter. "The victim, a male MBBS student, had reported the incident to his parents and lodged a complaint on the anti-ragging portal of the government," the Dean, Dr B Asokan confirmed while talking to The Hindu about the complaint.

The third-year MBBS students were suspended with immediate effect. The Dean informed that the action was taken on September 28 after an Anti-Ragging Committee conducted an inquiry.

"All four MBBS students were suspended from the hostel for a year. One among them was also suspended from the college for a month," he confirmed the suspension. For now, no complaint has been registered with the police yet.

LLRM Medical College (MEERUT)

In another incident reported recently, the second-year MBBS students from Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial (LLRM) Medical College were allegedly asked to remove their clothes at a restaurant.

It has been reported by Live Hindustan that the LLRM Medical College's second-year MBBS students were allegedly ragged by some of the third-year medicos.

The incident happened on 5^th October, when the juniors were eating at a restaurant wherein a few third-year MBBS students came and talked to one of the female second-year medico, who refused to recognize them. Enraged over the fact that a junior didn't recognize a senior, they allegedly initiated a fight with the second year medico group and asked one of the students to remove their clothes.

Before the alleged ragging could go any further, the food department came to raid the restaurant as well as the Civil Line branch police and the seniors ran away sooner than they could arrest them for the offence.

The college's administration has however refuted the allegations. The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the medical college, Dr Ajit Chaudhary said that this is not the incident of ragging. "There was a dispute over not recognizing the senior. Both sides have been calmed down."

"No complaint has been registered with the police regarding the ragging incident so far," confirmed Civil Line police station's officer Abdul Siddiqui.

MCI definition of Ragging

"Any act of physical or mental abuse (including bullying and exclusion) targeted at another student (fresher or otherwise) on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender (including transgender), sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background."

Read Also: MCI Amendment redefines Ragging