Medicos warned, barred from entering IGIMS after second ragging complaint in 10 days

The IGIMS on Thursday put on notice nine students and debarred all 120 medicos of 2020 batch from coming to the institute, after a medico of the 2021 batch threatened to commit suicide because of the mental harassment inflicted by senior students, said its principal Dr Ranjit Guha.

PATNA: The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), an autonomous medical institution of the Bihar government, on Thursday put on notice nine students and debarred all 120 medicos of 2020 batch from coming to the institute, after a medico of the 2021 batch threatened to commit suicide because of the mental harassment inflicted by senior students, said its principal Dr Ranjit Guha.

The IGIMS in Patna. (HT Photo)

“Medicos staying at hostels within the institute campus have also been asked to vacate them till the publication of their first professional MBBS 2022 (I) university exams, following another complaint of ragging, the second in 10 days,” said Dr Guha.

Earlier, the UGC anti-ragging cell had forwarded a similar non-specific complaint about ragging at the IGIMS on March 25. The one sent on April 4 was more serious, as the student threatened to commit suicide, said officials.

These decisions follow Thursday’s meeting of the institute’s anti-ragging committee, following an email to the anti-ragging cell of the institute on April 4. The institute lodged an FIR at the police outpost on the institute campus that was sent to local Shastrinagar police station the next day.

The embargo on students of the 2020 batch from entering the institute means that they would be debarred for around 3-4 weeks as the result of the university exams would now be delayed, said a senior faculty member of the institute.

The principal also sent a mail to parents of students of the 2021 batch, urging them to help identify the sender of the anonymous email to the institute, the university and media houses. It also requested the parents to impress upon their wards to help identify the culprits.

Dr VM Dayal, dean of the institute, also issued a final warning to nine students of the 2020 batch, charged with cyber bullying. They were identified through WhatsApp group chats, said Dr Guha.

“The nine students, issued warning, have been identified through a WhatsApp group text messaging among medicos of the 2020 batch as they chat about medicos of the 2021 batch, shown in poor light,” Dr Guha added.

“The students have been warned not to involve in any form of ragging failing which action will be taken against them as per the norms of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Medical Commission (NMC) that could mean suspension or rustication from the medical college,” Dr Guha said.

“The email was sent from through a fictitious email ID (narensinha@protonmail.com). This email ID has been deleted as return mails bounced back. This is a secure website,” he added.

Meanwhile, the cyber cell of the Patna police is also looking into the case and trying to identify the sender of the email through the internet proxy number from where the email was generated.