Ragging at GMC Kozhikode: 2 PG medicos suspended for six months, booked

When the anti-ragging committee of the medical college has suspended those two junior residents in MS Orthopedics for a period of six month, police have booked those medicos under Section 4 (penalty for ragging) of the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act.

They have been booked after police officials from Kozhikode Medical College station probed the matter and if found guilty, they could face imprisonment for a period extending up to two years along with a fine up to Rs 10,000.

The matter came to light after the victim, an MS Orthopedics student who took admission in 2021, complained about the issue. As per his complaint those two senior students were mentally harassing him and forcing him to do extra work. The victim, who is from Kollam, had also complained of not being able to sleep because of those continuous mental harassment.

Also Read: 10 MBBS students suspended over Ragging at Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College

As per the latest media report by The Hindu, the incident leading to the suspension took place in the first week of February 2022.

Troubled, the PG medico, who was the alleged victim of ragging, left his studies at GMC Kozhikode and moved to Thiruvananthapuram to resume his studies.

New Indian Express adds that taking note of the complaint, the anti-ragging committee of the medical college had a meeting on February 21. The team consisted of Dr Beena Guhan, Professor, Dr. Arun Preeth, assistant professor of pediatric surgery, and Dr Ratheesh P T, assistant professor of forensic medicine, who filed the report on March 5 after inquiring about the matter.

During the meeting of the committee on March 7, those two senior PG students were suspended for a period of six months.

The daily adds that several junior students at the college have also alleged facing severe harassment and ragging from the seniors both in terms of workload and hostels. Some of the students were allegedly forced to work for two to three days straight without any break.

Meanwhile, the matter has come into the radar of the Kerala State Human Rights Commission as well. Taking suo motu cognizance of the issue, the SHRC has booked a case as part of the investigation regarding this. Apart from this, the Commission has also asked the Principal of the GMC for submitting a report within 15 days, stated the press release issued by the Commission.