BHOPAL: They did what sleuths are seen doing in racy mystery novels changed their getup, assumed identities and mingled with the suspects. Four police personnel turned into medical students and paramedics to crack a ‘blind’ ragging case at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. And they succeeded.
It took sub-inspector Satyajit Chauhan, head constable Kalicharan and constables Shalini Chauhan and Rinku Rajput two months to track the 11 MBBS students allegedly involved in the ragging of juniors.
“Everyone has heard about blind murder cases, where neither the victim nor the accused are identified. Similar was the case of ragging lodged by us in July after a complaint was filed with the UGC anti-ragging helpline by the junior MBBS students,” Sanyogitaganj police station in-charge Tahzeeb Qazi told this newspaper.
The matter made headlines after the juniors alleged that they were locked in a flat by seniors, forced to do sit-ups, slap each other hard, perform sex acts and make abusive comments about women batchmates. Their mobile phones were also taken away.
The police began the probe in July, but failed to get any clue about the victims from the UGC staff or the college administration, who feared that it may put the students at risk of being targeted more severely by the seniors. Attempts to get leads from social media also failed, as the details had been deleted. Also, the senior students submitted a memorandum to the college, saying that the matter wasn’t genuine.
“As the case neared a dead end, we got a phone call in August that rekindled our hopes with a vital clue. We sent our team to the college disguised as an MBBS student, a nurse and paramedical staff,” Qazi said. The police personnel, in particular, 24-year-old Shalini, started frequenting the college canteen. “Every day, with Kalicharan sir escorting me, I began visiting the college. I used to wear a white apron, a surgical mask and carry a bag containing medical science books,” Shalini recounted. “Gradually, we started making friends.
Whenever they got suspicious about my identity, I changed the conversation,” she added. After a few weeks, they found two victims, who led them to the others. “We tracked the 11 accused last month. They have been given notices,” Qazi said.
Wore white apron, carried course books
The police personnel, in particular, 24-year-old Shalini, started frequenting the college canteen. “I used to wear a white apron, a surgical mask and carry a bag containing medical science books,” Shalini recounted. “Gradually, we started making friends among students. Whenever they got suspicious, I changed the conversation,” she added.