BALANGIR: A medical student died after falling from the roof of the hostel at Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital (BBMCH) in Balangir on Friday. The deceased was a first-year MBBS student from Haryana. While the police are yet to ascertain if it is a case of suicide or murder, the family has alleged that ragging could be behind his decision to take the extreme step.
Sources said, the student had taken admission in the MCH a month back and was residing at the New Boys Hostel. On Friday, he went to the hostel terrace after having lunch at around 2 pm. A few minutes later, hostel inmates got to know that he had fallen off the roof and sustained critical injuries. They rushed him to the hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
On being informed, police reached the spot and initiated an investigation into the incident. Alleging it to be a case of suicide, family members of the deceased said he had recently mentioned ragging while speaking to them. “My nephew had shared with his parents that he was being ragged for the last four days. This might have led him to take the extreme step,” said the student’s uncle Rabindra.
However, speaking to mediapersons, dean Sabita Mohapatra dismissed allegations of ragging on the campus. “An anti-ragging squad has been formed which visits the college everyday. For every five students, there is a mentor to guide them. I too have assured students to reach out to me if any problem arises. This, certainly, isn’t a case of ragging,” she said.
Balangir SDPO Tofan Bag said police are investigating all possible angles in the case. The exact cause of death will be ascertained after the postmortem is conducted on Saturday. This is the second such case of death of medical student at BBMCH. Last year, a girl student of the college had allegedly died by suicide by hanging from the hostel window.