9 students of govt medical college in Thane suspended for ragging

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.

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.