Forced to stand, dance for 3 hours! GMERS MBBS student dies after ragging, 15 seniors booked

Patna: Ragging at medical colleges which continues to rise at an alarming rate has witnessed another disturbing incident from Patna where an 18-year-old first-year MBBS student of GMERS Medical College and Hospital died after allegedly being made to stand for three hours during ragging by his seniors at the college hostel. Altogether 15 seniors have been suspended and booked in a criminal case.

According to a statement of a first-year student, some junior students including the deceased student were forced to stand for around three hours and introduce themselves individually. They were also allegedly forced to sing and dance, utter abusive words and not leave the room.

"They forced us to keep standing and asked us not to get agitated. At last, a student, who was also standing with us, fell unconscious. We rushed him to a hospital where he died," he said on condition of anonymity.

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The name of the accused students in this case emerged after the college authorities informed the anti-ragging cell of the matter. The committee chaired by Dean Dr Hardik Shah took the statements of 26 students—11 first-year and 15 second-year students—and found that 11 first-year students were subjected to ragging by a group of 15 second-year students.

Based on substantial evidence, the college authorities suspended the accused students from their hostel and academic activities until further orders, as per a statement from the medical college officials.

The incident took place on Saturday after the accused students called 11 first-year students, including the deceased and his classmates, to a hostel room for an "introduction". They made the juniors stand for nearly three-and-a-half hours while forcing them to sing and dance, utter abusive words and not leave the room. This allegedly caused serious mental and physical trauma to the students.

Following this, the victim student's health deteriorated. He fainted and fell unconscious at around midnight. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The college dean Dr Hardik Shah told PTI, "The student was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed, and attempts to revive him failed and he was declared dead. His classmates said he died after being made to stand for three hours and introduce himself before seniors at the college hostel," Shah informed.

Based on a complaint by the college's additional dean Dr Anil Bhathija, the FIR was lodged against 15 students under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly, and using obscene words. The police sent the student's body for postmortem.

The victim's cousin said "His body was taken for postmortem, so the truth will be known after the report comes. We heard from other students of the college that the senior students made him stand for several hours after which he fainted and died. We seek justice from the government and the college," he said

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