BHUBANESWAR: Father of the first year medical student, who allegedly died by suicide in Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital (BBMCH) in Balangir, has named the institution's anti-ragging cell as an accused in his police complaint. He accused the cell of failure in preventing the ragging incidents that allegedly forced his son to end his life.
The FIR copy of the complainant Kishan Kumar of Haryana mentioned that his son was ragged by his seniors every day since April 13. Harassed and depressed, he took the extreme step on April 22, he said and alleged in the police complaint that it was due to carelessness and failure of the anti-ragging cell of BBMCH in preventing ragging that led to his son’s death.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Kumar said a WhatsApp group of students including his son was formed by the seniors who used to call the first year students to different places on the campus premises at 10 pm every day and rag them for at least 2 to 3 hours.
"His ragging had started two days after he arrived in the college earlier this month. A few hours before his death, he had a video call with his mother and was disturbed over being ragged every day. He told her that his seniors had asked him to welcome some outside students who had come to the campus that day by abusing them in the filthiest of language," Kumar said.
He added that his son and his classmates were wary of complaining against the seniors to the college administration fearing retaliation by the latter. "He had told us that although hostel authorities were aware of the ragging, they did nothing to stop it," Kumar further alleged.
Acting on the complaint, police have registered a case under sections 306 and 34 of the IPC and started investigation. Meanwhile, a WhatsApp chat between the student and his friend, has surfaced where he has mentioned ragging by some seniors.
In the chat, he had mentioned that seniors were forcing the juniors to greet them and not allowing them inside the park, among other things. Efforts to contact Dean of the College Sabita Mohapatra for her comment on the allegation did not yield any result.
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm)