Nine students of civic-run medical college in Thane suspended for ragging

Nine students from Rajiv Gandhi Medical College in Thane, India have been suspended for one semester after being caught on video ragging a fellow student.

Thane: Nine students from first and second-year MBBS stream at Rajiv Gandhi Medical College have been suspended for one semester after ragging a fellow student at the boys’ hostel of the college in Manpada, the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) officials confirmed on Wednesday. The college is attached to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa.

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The incident occurred on September 7, a video showing how the victim was being mentally abused by a group of students inside the college hostel attached to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa. The student filed an email complaint to the University Grants Commission (UGC) in Delhi the next day. A committee was immediately set up by the dean of the college, Dr Rakesh Barot to probe the incident. The Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik and the National Medical Commission, Delhi also asked the college to undertake appropriate action based on the victim’s complaint.

Following the proof provided by hostel CCTV cameras and an in-camera investigation, nine students have been removed from the hostel and suspended for one semester. “We cannot imagine any kind of ragging taking place in this college, considering the anti-ragging rules here are so strict,” said a third year student from Nashik. Another first year student added that this incident came as a shock, considering that they were good friends with their seniors.

“Ragging is a very serious matter. We don’t know if this was an isolated event or a recurring one. But this incident and the firm and immediate action taken against it are intended to deter students from such behaviour. We never know how a simple act might end up turning into something dangerous,” said Abhijit Bangar, Commissioner, of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC).

“We are ensuring that this incident never gets repeated. A person from the committee set up by the college visits the hostel once a week to check if everything is okay. The warden has also been more involved with the students, regularly asking them if they wish to share anything. Earlier the students lived together, but now they have been segregated based on their seniority – first-year students stay on the first and second floor, while others stay on floors from third to tenth,” said Barot.