COIMBATORE: First year students staying in the hostel of the Coimbatore Medical College were forced to remove their clothes and beer was poured into their mouths, a second-year student, who has gone through the ordeal in his first year of studies, has alleged in his complaint to the national anti-ragging body.
The student, in his complaint written last Thursday, has said that on their first day in the hostel, “seniors called us and forced us to remove our inners and wear just formal clothes. We are forced to wear only formal clothes even to the restroom. They also made us buy cigarettes and beer and even poured beer in our mouth.”
“The government and public have a view that ragging in medical colleges are too common and ragging makes a real doctor. I am going to second year and my batchmates will rag the juniors for sure,” he continues.
He then requests the national anti-ragging body to act on his complaint and stop ragging.
Responding to the complaint, College dean A Edwin Joe told Express, “We have sent a reply to the national body for anti-ragging about the action taken on the complaint. Due to the presence of faculty members, possibility of seniors ragging the juniors is less in college buildings. The ragging in medical college happens mostly only in the hostel.”
“Earlier, we used to have a separate wing in the hostel building for first year students. Now, we have created a separate hostel building along with separate mess facility for the first year students. The senior students will not have access to the hostels, in which the junior students stay,” he adds.
In 2009, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had come out with regulation to curb ragging.
In a goof-up, body uploads complainant’s identity
In an embarrassment, the national anti-ragging body revealed the identity of a complainant from Coimbatore Medical College on its website. The UGC regulation against ragging, mandates that the identity of the victim should not be disclosed.
Worse, the phone number of the student has been displayed on its website www.antiragging.in. Ironically, the body in a communication to the college has said, “You are also requested not to disclose the identity of the victim.”
Commenting on this, SFI former national general secretary K S Kanagaraj said, “If the identity of the complainant is revealed, students will hesitate to report incidents in future.”