A Supreme Court panel, constituted to probe into the ragging and subsequent death of medical student, Aman Kachroo, has blamed rampant use of alcohol in institutions for a spurt in ragging incidents.
The panel comprising Dr. A K Agarwal, Dean, Maulana Azad Medical College, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Principal, Ramjas College has also indicted the administrative staff of Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (RPGMC) for Kachroo’s death. The first year student succumbed to injuries inflicted on him by his seniors during a ragging session in the hostel on March 8.
The panel has further sought immediate inquiry against suspended college principal Dr Suresh Sankhyan for failing to implement Supreme Court directions against ragging. Keeping the “seemingly violent history” of RPGMC in mind, it has urged the court to post police on the campus until the college administration manages to enforce discipline.
According to the panel the college’s anti-ragging committee never met and its staff were not even sensitised to the menace of ragging. “The college administration could not properly bring about a stable and disciplined atmosphere in the college,” the report stated.
While reading out contents of the “shocking report” before a special bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, additional solicitor general (ASG) Gopal Subramanium said there was an immediate need to introduce de-addiction measures at educational institutions.
{{/usCountry}}While reading out contents of the “shocking report” before a special bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, additional solicitor general (ASG) Gopal Subramanium said there was an immediate need to introduce de-addiction measures at educational institutions.
{{/usCountry}}Subramanium, who is assisting the court in the matter, suggested constitution of a special committee having eminent psychiatrists or psychologists, a documentary-maker and an educationalist, to recommend urgent and mandatory mental health measures to be implemented at all the education institutions including schools.
The ASG said the committee should also immediately examine the problem of alcoholism on RPGMC campus and suggest immediate de-addiction measures. The court was also informed about the panel’s finding against the role of Medical Council of India (MCI). The panel has raised doubts over MCI’s sincerity in curbing ragging in medical colleges and sought a probe into it.