Forced to Have Sex With Pillow, Abuse Girls In Indore Medical College, Anti-Ragging Cells In Question

In a shocking case of ragging, a group of junior students of Madhya Pradesh's most significant state government medical college has filed complaints against their seniors for forcing them to pretend to have sex with pillows and abuse their female batchmates.

The incident occurred at Indore's Mahatma Gandhi Medical College in the flats of senior MBBS students adjacent to the campus.

The junior MBBS students narrated their ordeal when they dialled the University Grants Commission's (UGC) anti-ragging helpline. They alleged that their seniors compelled them to perform sex acts on pillows and forced them to choose any female of their class and make derogatory remarks about her. They also said they were asked to slap each other so hard that the sound was "loud and clear".

In addition, the students alleged that they were forced to do sit-ups, and their mobile phones were also taken away, News18 reported.

Action By UGC; Investigation Underway

Taking immediate action, the UGC contacted the college administration, after which the institute's anti-ragging cell conducted a preliminary investigation and found all allegations true. It also decided to file a police case or FIR against all the accused.

An FIR was filed against a few senior students under different sections of IPC and Anti-ragging Act 2009 on July 24 for criminal intimidation, obscene act and relevant sections of Anti-Ragging Act 2009.

The Indore Police said they will start recording the statements of all MBBS freshers, NDTV reported. The senior students' identities have not been revealed. The juniors said they are scared to disclose their identities as they could take revenge.

According to the officials at Sanyogitaganj police station, police will be recording the statements of the entire batch of freshers, after which the accused seniors will be identified. In the complaint filed by a junior student with the UGC's anti-ragging helpline, it was also alleged that some professors did nothing to discourage ragging and supported it.

Meanwhile, in another recent incident, a 19-year-old student of a prestigious college in Odisha allegedly died by suicide in her hostel due to ragging by seniors. The girl student was found hanging inside her room in the ladies' hostel. The police found a suicide note in the room, in which she said three college seniors mentally harassed her, India Today reported.

Most Ragging Incidents Go Unreported

According to government data, UGC received 2,790 complaints of ragging from 2018 to December 2021, including 219 in 2020 and 485 in 2021. A total of 620 students were suspended, and 17 were rusticated.

However, some medical students feel there are more ragging cases than official statistics. They say most ragging incidents go unreported. The data also shows that few complaints made on the anti-ragging helpline – 0.11% – led to registered cases from the helpline's inception in 2012 till September 2021.

Students have complained that the college administration usually tries to suppress such cases. Even with anti-ragging committees existent in universities as per guidelines, its functioning stands in question. Also, many premier institutes try not to bring it to light for their reputation.

It has also perpetuated ragging culture across colleges and universities where the junior-senior equation continues to pass on from one batch to another. Even the mental health of students gets affected due to such incidents. Students might be disinterested in attending classes for what they face on campuses. Similar incidents have even been reported from schools. This indicates the gravity of the situation.

The government data also shows that students prefer to complain to the police; therefore, every year, there is a decrease in reported cases of ragging on the UGC helpline.

Also Read: India Ranks Low At 135th Worldwide For Gender Parity; Worst For Health & Survival: World Economic Forum Report