Days after seven resident doctors from the orthopaedics department of Bhavnagar Government Medical College were booked in a ragging case, the institution has received another complaint, this time involving the gynaecology department.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) informed the college that it had received an online complaint from a woman student alleging harassment by five or six senior students. According to the complaint, the seniors allegedly demanded money for food and punished junior students by making them write the same sentence 100 times.
Following the complaint, the college activated its anti-ragging mechanism and launched an internal inquiry. Dean Dr. Chinmay Shah said the UGC did not disclose the identity of the complainant.
“We received the communication from the UGC and immediately convened a meeting of the internal anti-ragging squad. All 10 first-year students from the gynaecology department were questioned, but none reported any instance of ragging,” Shah said.
He added that the students were interviewed both individually and in groups, but no one confirmed the allegations. According to Shah, the complainant may not have felt comfortable revealing details during the inquiry despite filing the complaint on the UGC portal.
The dean said senior students had been warned against indulging in ragging and reminded about the recent action taken against resident doctors from the orthopaedics department. He added that the college is also working to dismantle the traditional senior-junior hierarchy to discourage ragging.
The college submitted a preliminary report to the UGC, following which the commission directed it to convene a meeting of the anti-ragging committee comprising external members, including parents and student representatives.
The committee met on Tuesday, but no student came forward with any complaint against senior students. The college has also instructed all heads of departments and faculty members to remain vigilant and take immediate action if any ragging-related complaint is received.
Six Orthopaedics Residents Released After Notices
Meanwhile, six of the seven resident doctors booked for allegedly subjecting 13 first-year orthopaedics students to physical and mental harassment were detained by police on Tuesday.
Nilambaug Police Inspector Deepak Unadkat said the six were produced before the mamlatdar and later released after being served notices directing them to cooperate with the investigation and appear before the police whenever required. The seventh accused resident doctor is yet to be traced.