Four expelled for ragging - Medical students banned for six months

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Agartala, June 19: The Agartala Government Medical College last night expelled four students from its hostel for six months on charges of physically torturing a fresher from Rajasthan in the name of ragging him.

The four second-year students — Rimjhim Chakma, Rahul Deb, Utpal Tripura and Mrinmoy Tripura — had been ragging the first-year student from Rajasthan, Sravan Saini, since he took admission in the college last year.

Assistant professor M.K. Das said, “Every year, 15 students are admitted to the college on central quota. Sravan Saini was one such student who took admission last year. But from the very beginning, he was being physically ill-treated in the name of ragging by the four expelled students.” Though Saini had put up with the torture initially, things became unbearable during the past week. He called up his parents and informed them about the ragging after he was badly beaten up on Friday night, Das added.

“It was his parents from Rajasthan who spoke to the principal and implored him to save their son’s life. Principal Dilip Das took prompt action and directed the deputy superintendent of the college hostel, N.K. Shiv, to conduct an inquiry into the allegation and take action,” Das said.

He said the deputy superintendent reached the hostel and summoned the four students, but they kept him waiting for more than half an hour and did not turn up. Shiv brought this to the notice of the principal, who then called an emergency meeting of the disciplinary committee, which, after discussing the issue, decided to expel the four students from the hostel for six months and conduct further investigation into their activities.

Das said the expelled students had failed in their annual exams twice and had several allegations of drinking and unruly behaviour pending against them, which would now be inquired into. “Our problem is that in most cases, specific complaints are not lodged by the victim students. But this time, the culprits have crossed all limits and hence it has become a controversy,” he said.

He added that in view of the fresh admissions scheduled for next month, the disciplinary committee would keep a secret vigil on activities of the hostel boarders.

Allegations of ragging have been raised every year since 2006 against a section of students, especially hostel inmates. In 2007, son of Congress MLA Biswabandhu Sen of Dharmanagar, had to leave the college and join a private institution in Bangalore after he was subjected to ragging for days.

Minister for higher education Anil Sarkar has directed the college authorities to take strict action against students found indulging in ragging and other malpractice.