2 resident doctors arrested in GMC Surat Mircobiology medico suicide case, 9 other juniors allegedly harasssed

Surat: Over two months after a first-year microbiology medico died by suicide at GMC Surat, police have arrested two senior resident doctors over charges of allegedly subjecting him and nine others to systemic harassment and ragging.

Speaking to PTI, the Assistant Commissioner of Police Z R Desai said, "The accused doctors were picked up after they evaded arrest following the death of ***, who was found hanging in his hostel room on August 9... Two of the four resident doctors were arrested on Sunday. According to the anti-ragging committee, the accused were involved in ragging ***, after which he died by suicide,” Desai said.

The police had registered a first information report (FIR) against four second-year PG students of the GMC affiliated to New Civil Hospital after the medico was found hanging on the morning of August 9.

Medical Dialogues had reported that a first-year postgraduate medical student in the Department of Microbiology at GMC Surat committed suicide by hanging from the ceiling of his PG hostel room. The medico took the extreme step after reportedly facing mental harassment and ragging by four senior doctors.

Following the incident, Gujarat Health Minister Praful Panseriya ordered an internal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death. The committee found evidence that the doctor was mentally harassed and ragged by four senior resident doctors. Based on the findings, the four senior doctors were suspended for six months from the hospital, the hostel, and all teaching and academic activities.

After the suspension of four senior doctors, the college administration issued show-cause notices to four faculty members for alleged inaction including the Microbiology MoD who is under suspension.

As per a government release by Health Minister Praful Pansheriya, the professor’s headquarters during the suspension period will be GMC Vadodara. She had been directed not to leave her headquarters without prior permission from the competent authority.

“During the period of suspension, the professor's headquarters will be Government Medical College, Vadodara. She will not be able to leave the headquarters in Vadodara without the written permission of the competent officer. She will not be able to engage in any private job or business during the suspension period. If these conditions are violated, the subsistence allowance payable to her will be stopped and additional strict disciplinary action will be taken,” the release said.

The four suspended senior resident doctors at Government Medical College (GMC), Surat, were booked on charges of wrongful confinement and causing mental harassment in an FIR registered at Khatodara police station. The FIR was based on a complaint filed by GMC Dean Dr Jayesh Brahmbhatt, citing the findings of the anti-ragging committee.

The accused have been booked under sections 127 (2) (wrongful confinement), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, an official of Khatodara police station said.

According to the police, the accused had been hiding at the houses of their relatives and friends and filing quashing petitions to evade arrest, he said, adding that two other accused are yet to be arrested.

As per the complaint lodged by the institute, second-year resident doctors are not permitted to assign any tasks to first-year resident doctors. However, despite this, the accused harassed 10 first-year residents of the microbiology department.

Desai said since the medico took admission in March-April, the ragging continued for three to four months. The accused doctors subjected him and others to humiliation and verbal abuse and lodged false complaints with the faculty, alleging that they were not performing their duties, the complaint noted.

On August 5, the seniors allegedly sent WhatsApp messages to the first-year students summoning them to the microbiology department’s serology lab, where they detained them illegally for two hours, mentally harassed and humiliated them with crude remarks, the complaint stated.

The anti-ragging committee then recorded statements of senior resident doctors, faculty members, technicians and cleaners employed at the microbiology department based on complaints from nine first-year resident doctors and the deceased student’s father, adds PTI

The committee noted that there was no evidence of physical abuse or that death resulted from such abuse.

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