AIIMS Rajkot MBBS suicide case: HC seeks state reply after 5 accused students appeal to quash abetment charge

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has issued a notice to the state government in a case involving five MBBS students of AIIMS Rajkot who have been booked for abetment to suicide after a fellow student's suicide case.

The matter came up after the accused students approached the High Court seeking the quashing of the FIR registered against them. They were earlier arrested under provisions of the BNS and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and later released on bail.

The case is related to the death of a final-year MBBS student who died by suicide on March 14. Medical Dialogues had reported that the 25-year-old MBBS medico committed suicide after allegedly being assaulted and harassed by classmates, leaving behind a 17-page note.

His body was found on a railway track between Ghanteshwar and Para Pipaliya. He was struck by a train, and his laptop, mobile phones, medical files and ID card were found near the tracks along with a 17-page note that accused his classmates of assaulting him.

Also read- 5 accused classmates in AIIMS Rajkot MBBS medico's suicide case get bail

In the note, he mentioned that the accused students allegedly assaulted him inside a hostel room and recorded his video and audio. He mentioned that his classmates had been repeatedly harassing him since January this year, over suspicion regarding his relationship with a girl.

Weeks later, when the matter came up before the Rajkot Sessions Court, the court granted bail to the five accused students on the grounds that keeping them in judicial custody until the trial concludes would amount to "pre-trial punishment."

During the hearing before the Gujarat High Court as reported by TOI, senior advocate Mitesh Amin, appearing for the students, informed the court that the deceased had written three separate suicide notes on different dates.

He said the first was circulated on social media on Jan 27 when he first attempted suicide. This note was addressed to the institute's faculty members. The second note, also to the faculty members, came after he was taken home. The third was found from a bag lying near his body at a railway track on March 14. It was submitted to the court that the accused had stopped talking to the student since his first suicide attempt.

It was also submitted that the deceased student was undergoing treatment for schizophrenia, and one of the notes mentioned a girl. His earlier statement to police reportedly indicated that he had not been in contact with the five students for about a month.

Opposing the plea, the state government argued that the FIR is based on the first suicide note, in which he had alleged that he was assaulted by the accused a day before his initial attempt.

After hearing both sides, Justice M R Mengdey issued notice to the state government as well as the deceased student's father, who had filed the complaint.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for June 22.

Also read- AIIMS Rajkot MBBS student suicide: Probe continues 2 weeks on amid harassment allegations