Madurai Medical College Ragging Case: Suspension Order of 19 second-year MBBS Students to be Reconsidered

Chennai: Twenty-two second year MBBS students, who were earlier suspended from Madurai Medical College for six months on account of verbally ragging the first year students at the medical college hostel, are likely to face rebate on their punishment.

The Anti-Ragging Committee at the college, which convened on 11^th October, is likely to reduce the punishment period of the guilty MBBS students. For this purpose, the committee has decided to call the parents of these 22 students to kindly give an undertaking that their wards would not be engaged in acts like ragging henceforth.

Medical Dialogues had reported about the ragging incident which took place on 30^th August at the Madurai Medical College. It was stated that a complaint of ragging was lodged with the Anti-Ragging Cell (New Delhi) by the first-year MBBS students about incidents of ragging by the second year medicos.

In their complaint, the juniors stated that ragging was going on for nearly a month in which they were asked to run errands, salute their seniors, wear only formal clothes even while sleeping and not allowed to sport moustaches.

A first-year student informed that they were warned about the ragging a day before by the accused students when they said that ‘those who were not in support of ragging would face the risk of being ostracised till the completion of the course.’

“On 30^th August, about 15 students had trespassed into the secluded block meant for first-year students and instructed us not to talk to girls, not to fold up shirt sleeves, to sleep dressed in formals only, to not lock our mobile phones using password, to salute them every time they pass by and not to enter hostel mess before 1 pm, even if our classes get over at 12 pm,” the student informed while narrating the ragging incident.

The seniors also got into the rooms of the first year students at night to check if all of them were sleeping dressed in formals. “When they found that some weren’t, they took note of them and left the place saying that those who disobeyed their ‘diktat’ would be taken care of later,” he said.

After receiving the complaint from the trounced medicos, the cell contacted Dr Maruthupandian, Dean of the Medical College and Government Rajaji Hospital, and discreet inquiries were conducted with first-year students to confirm the veracity of the allegations.

The identities of some of the senior students were confirmed with the help of CCTV footage from the hostel premises. It was also added that the senior MBBS students had trespassed into the hostel. “Seniors are not allowed to enter the hostel block of first-year students. Their very entry is a violation,” Dr Maruthupandian had confirmed.

Based on the CCTV footage, the Anti-Ragging Committee recommended the suspension and an additional barring of the accused MBBS students from the college hostel for nearly one-and-a-half years, till their examinations in February 2020.

In accord with the recommendation, the college administration suspended the second year MBBS students for six months from college and for one year from college hostel, with immediate effect.

Read Also: VERBAL Ragging: 22 Madurai Medical College MBBS Students get six months suspension

However, when the college reopened for the second year MBBS students on October 1 after the semester holidays that began on August 30, the dean started receiving appeals of consideration over the period of suspension from the parents of the suspended students.

“While none pleaded not guilty, the parents had only appealed requesting to reconsider the period of suspension from the college. So, on Thursday morning, about 50 of the affected first-year students were individually asked of their opinion on reducing the suspension period and surprisingly, all of them opined that the punishment term be reduced since the seniors have now become friends with them,” the Dean informed TNIE.

The Anti-Ragging Committee convened a meeting once again. It was decided to call the parents of all the suspended MBBS students to appear before the Dean on 15^th October, so as to know their willingness to give an undertaking that their wards will not indulge in a similar act in future.