KEM hospital students, hostel wardens booked for harassing SC student

The accused have been booked under sections 3(1)(i),(r)(s)(z) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 among other acts

The Bhoiwada police has registered First Information Report (FIR) against 16 persons, including 12 medical students studying at the KEM Hospital and Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas (GS) Medical College and two doctors working at the hospital for harassing and ragging a student who belongs to the Mahar community, which falls within the scheduled caste (SC) category.

The 24-year-old victim is a third year student of occupational therapy at GS Medical college, which is attached to the civic-run hospital. (Stock pic)

The accused have been booked under sections 3(1)(i),(r)(s)(z) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, section 4 of the Maharashtra Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1999, section 504 (intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code.

The 24-year-old victim is a third year student of occupational therapy at GS Medical college, which is attached to the civic-run hospital.

In the FIR, the complainant stated that the accused students, some of who are his roommates, have abused him since December 2018. They made casteist comments pertaining to his caste, and threatened to kill him.

The student alleged that the accused made him clean utensils, wash their clothes and sweep the floors in the college premises and the hostel. The FIR added that the accused made the victim stand on top of benches as a form of physical punishment.

Earlier this month, a student allegedly snatched the complainant’s phone and called him “a miser” and “a beggar” and made a reference to his caste, the FIR stated. HT has seen a copy of the document.

“In March 2019, three of my roommates in the hostel room abused me and also made casteist remarks saying, ‘You belong to the Mahar community, why have you come here for studies?’ I was mentally harassed, and tortured on many occasions by the accused students. They used filthy language and threatened to kill me. I was scared and lodged many complaints. I sent an email to the hospital administration, but they didn’t resolve the problem,” the complainant said in the FIR.

“We have registered an offence and further verifying and investigating the allegations. No arrest has been made yet,” Pranay Ashok, deputy commissioner of police, zone 5,who is holding additional charge of zone 4, said.

In April 2019, the student lodged a complaint with the dean and other senior functionaries of the medical college and alleged that he was being ragged and abused with casteist slurs by other students. However, the college administration reportedly did not take any notice of the student’s complaint, the official quoted above said.

When the 24-year-old complained about this treatment to the two doctors who are wardens of the college hostel, he was threatened by them that he will be thrown out of the college, a police official who did not wish to be quoted, said.

On December 14, 2021, the student filed another complaint, after some students allegedly threatened to kill him. After submitting the letter to the dean, the student went back to his native village in Hingoli district.

In this complaint letter, the student alleged that in August 2021, one of the accused students took him to a room and locked him inside. This accused student also threatened to assault him with a belt. After 15-20 minutes, the accused student allowed him to leave, but asked him to bring milk for him, while other students laughed at him, the complaint stated.

He further wrote that while everyone was allowed to dry their clothes outside, the hostel wardens would yell at him for doing so, and asked him to maintain distance when interacting with them. “Such behaviour is inhuman,” the student wrote in his complaint.

The complainant wrote that ever since the second year of his studies started, a few students were harassing him. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

On December 15, the college administration set up an anti-ragging inquiry committee which eventually concluded that no ragging had taken place as the student did not present sufficient evidence to support his allegations.

“The FIR has been registered, as the complainant was not satisfied with findings of the anti-ragging committee constituted by the college,” DCP Ashok said.

KEM dean Dr Sangeeta Ravat, said: “Initially a small committee was looking into the matter, but after I joined, a 21-member committee that also comprised independent members from an NGO, a journalist and two parents (as per the university guidelines) looked into the student’s complaint. The police were also present throughout this proceeding.”

“The committee recorded versions of the students, teachers. The committee didn’t find anyone who said anything in his (the complainant) favour or supported his claims. He was given sufficient opportunity to express his problems so that the same can be resolved. But nothing could be verified. Not a single student supported his claims. He called three to four students, but they too said that they have also heard about his problems, but they have not witnessed any incident. He complained of alleged incidents that occurred inside hostel rooms which cannot be verify through CCTV footage,” she said.

“In addition, we formed a guardian committee, which comprises an anatomy professor of his choice, to ensure that he does not face any problem till he finishes his studies,” Ravat said.

The details of the measures undertaken by the hospital administration was sent to the mayor and the law officer of the civic body.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (Sion division) Ashwini Patil, the investigation officer in the case, said that an internal committee of the KEM’s college has looked in to the matter. The student also made a complaint before the state’s SC-ST commission on December 23, 2021

Senior inspector of Bhoiwada police station Jitendra Pawar said that according to the complainant, the accused students used casteist slurs against the complainant. The police are now in process of collecting evidence and identifying witnesses to verify complainant student’s allegations.

The complainant’s father runs a small shop in Hingoli and his mother is a housewife. His elder sister has completed her studies in dentistry.