Ragging at Tripura Medical College: 18 MBBS Students Booked, Fined Rs 10 Lakh, Suspended From Hostels

New Delhi: Altogether 18 students of Tripura Medical College, Hapania, Agartala have been booked for complaints of ragging, including threatening to shave the heads of their juniors, forcing female students to propose to their seniors. FIR was lodged against them after the college administration filed a complaint against them. Apart from being booked, the students have also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 10 lakh, and they have also been suspended from the hostels for one year. Further, their mobile phones will be monitored for six months, TOI has reported.

After the victims filed complaints before an Anti-Ragging NGO, Society Against Violence in Education, the NGO complained to the college and the UGC Anti-Ragging helpline.

Also Read: MKCG Medical College 2nd year MBBS students allege ragging by seniors, NMC intervenes

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, the victims were allegedly threatened to shave their heads, and female students were forced to propose to their seniors. The victims were shown sample pics of how they were to get their heads shaven. Meanwhile, most female students were instructed through WhatsApp to propose to their seniors and sing songs to entertain them.

When an internal inquiry was conducted, the college found that the accused students repeatedly abused, threatened, and humiliated the newly admitted 2024 MBBS students, especially those belonging to ST category. Allegedly, the accused students forced the victim to do insulting activities through WhatsApp messages.

The operation from the NGO's side was led by the Anti-Ragging Activist Rupesh Kumar Jha. He told TOI, "This should serve as an example for the entire country. Mass human right violation cannot be allowed in our educational institutions."

Commenting on the matter, another Activist, Meera Kaura Patel opined that "This is one of the biggest cases in which any college has given punishment to the culprits. In many such earlier cases, the college administrations in the past have tried to cover-up the acts of ragging prevalent."

The Principal of the college Dr. Arindam Dutta set up a committee to conduct an inquiry and "the complaints have been found prima-facie true." It has been mentioned in the college's action taken order, the accused students were repeatedly involved in abusing their juniors "especially ST students forcing them to do insulting activities…, and “were found dictating victim students through WhatsApp messages to introduce themselves and speak in Kokborok language."

Apart from filing the FIR, the Committee also decided to impose a financial penalty of Rs 50,000 per student on all the accused and Rs 10,000 on repeat harassers and an additional Rs 25,000 on those who abused the SAVE team.

Also Read: Meeting between colleges and parents, Mentor-Mentee Programme: Here's what NMC guidelines suggest to Stop Ragging