Eleven second-year MBBS students at the Government Medical College, Kozhikode, have been suspended on the charge of ragging first-year students there.
The incident is reported to have happened at the college hostel some time ago. According to sources, the junior students later lodged a complaint saying that they were physically and mentally harassed. There had been some discussion about the incident on a WhatsApp group of their parents as well.
Following this, college principal K.G. Sajeeth Kumar set up an inquiry panel led by the head of the Department of Anatomy. Professors in the Departments of Physiology and Forensic Medicine and the college sergeant and the hostel secretary were its other members. The action was taken against the students based on the report of the committee. It has been reported that the parents of the accused students were called in to the college and told about the circumstances that led to the disciplinary action.
The anti-ragging committee of the college subsequently forwarded its report to the Medical College Police Station. However, no case has been registered as the police are awaiting detailed testimonies by the students. It is learnt that some students are averse to taking legal recourse and want to settle the issue within the campus itself.
Meanwhile, some sections are raising questions about the security system on the campus since four security staff had been specifically designated for the junior students. A special system has also been reportedly deployed to ensure the safety of students at the hostel and during their journey to the class rooms.
As many as 17 MBBS students at the college were kept off from attending classes in March 2022 after a complaint that they were involved in a ragging incident. In the same month, two postgraduate students were suspended after a junior PG student in the Orthopedics Department complained that he was mentally harassed by them.
