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Days after an 18-year-old MBBS student at a Gujarat medical college died, allegedly after he was made to stand for hours during a ragging session, his family has questioned what kind of doctors such seniors would become.
Anil Methaniya, a first-year student of GMERS Medical College and Hospital in Dharpur Patan this year, was among several first-year students who were allegedly harassed by seniors on Saturday night during "introduction". "Introduction" or "intro" is a word frequently used for ragging activities on residential campuses.
After standing for hours at a stretch, Anil collapsed and became unconscious. He was hospitalised and he told police that he was made to stand for three hours. He died soon after. Fifteen senior students have been arrested in this connection. They face the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other sections.
Anil's cousin Gaurav Methaniya recalled the shocking phone call they received on Saturday night. "We got a call at night and were told that my brother had been hospitalised. We were asked to rush to the hospital at the earliest," said Gaurav.
Anil's family stays in Gujarat's Surendranagar district, over 150 km from the medical college.
"Four of us reached the hospital around 4 am and we came to know my brother had died and the body had been sent for postmortem. At the meeting there where the dean and cops were present, we came to know ragging happened. Seniors were questioned," said Gaurav.
Asked what the family wants now, he replied, "Those who are doing these acts have a criminal mind, medicine is a service sector, how will they work there? Will they improve or harm the country's future? What kind of doctors will they become with such criminal minds, their studies should be stopped and they must be sentenced to life imprisonment."
Gaurav said Anil was an excellent student. "He was the top student across two-three villages, the first in our family who got through MBBS. We saw a future doctor in him," he said.
The college's anti-ragging committee recorded statements of 26 students and found that 15 seniors had ragged 11 freshers. According to the FIR, the first-year students were made to stand for hours and forced to sing, dance and use slangs.
Higher education regulator University Grants Commission has banned ragging in every form on educational campuses and affiliated institutions have been asked to take strict action against those found guilty of ragging or abetting ragging.