Tamil Nadu's Christian Medical College suspended seven senior medical students after registering a complaint of ragging and sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by them against their juniors, the college authorities said.
A first-year student posted a detailed written account on community platform Reddit delineating the entire incident of brutal ragging, particularly emphasizing on physical and sexual abuse that the freshers were facing in the men hostel since March.
A video of the incident recently surfaced on social media. The video shared by a Twitter user said, “Video proof of severe ragging in Christian Medical College, Vellore.”
The 'ragging ceremony' at CMC Vellore
The video shows that the freshers, who were just in their underwear, were paraded and sprayed with water from a fire hydrant. It also shows a senior student allegedly hitting the juniors’ private parts. From forcing them to pretend masturbation with a bottle to asking the students to rub against each other, the seniors at the college compelled them to mimic several sexual acts on each other.
The first-year student also mentioned that the seniors, who were assaulting them, were communicating using codes like “buzzing” to hit their testicles, “tuning” to inflict pain on their chest.
He also mentioned that they were forced to lie down in mud and mimic sexual intercourse, among other acts.
Image Credit- Reddit
Besides this, he added that they are suspended upside down from the top floor of the hostel, slapped and beaten.
“We are required to strip naked at the request of seniors,” the user said, adding that they use cardboard to cover themselves.
How did the authority respond?
The college authority on Wednesday asserted that a committee has been constituted to investigate the allegations. They have also added that the suspension remains valid till the end of the probe.
“We received an anonymous letter, and we are investigating.” CMC director, Dr Vikram Mathews, told reporters.
“Even though it is an anonymous letter, we have initiated an inquiry as per the rules of the land. When they submit the report, action will be taken. We don’t condone ragging in any form. We have zero tolerance to ragging. It alleged now. Till the enquiry is complete, they (the 7 students) have been suspended,” the director added.
Ragging circulations
Ragging is a penal offence prohibited by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the National Medical Council (NMC).
According to NMC's regulation , the term ragging is applicable for "any conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of harassing, teasing, treating or handling with rudeness any other student, indulging in rowdy or undisciplined activities which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship or psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student or asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or psyche of a fresher or a junior student".
The medical education regulatory body has mentioned it explictly ragging in all its forms shall be totally banned in the entire Medical College/Institution / University including its departments, constituent units, all its premises (academic, residential, sports, canteen, etc) whether located within the campus or outside and in all means of transportation of students whether public or private.
The medical institutions are also directed to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Act of the Central Government and the State Governments and should consider ragging as a cognizable offence under the law at par with rape and other atrocities against women and ill-treatment of persons belonging to the SC/ST and prohibiting ragging in all its forms in all institutions and take strict action against those found guilty of ragging and/or of abetting ragging.
