Junior students allege that they had named 30 seniors in their complaint, but the ragging case was registered against only seven.
Students being punched
Tamil Nadu’s Christian Medical College (CMC) will expel seven students, accused of ragging juniors, if found guilty, the college submitted before the Madras High Court on Monday, 14 November.
The court had taken a writ petition on its own after the brutal incident had come to light.
Counsel for the Vellore-based college Advocate Krishna Srinivasan termed the incident “unfortunate” and informed the court that the institute had placed the seven students under suspension after a preliminary inquiry by its anti-ragging committee. A police complaint, too, was lodged, he said.
“The police are now investigating the matter and the college management maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards ragging,” he told the court.
The bench of Acting Chief Justice (ACJ) T Raja and Justice D Krishnakumar took up the case for hearing.
Expressing displeasure over the incident, ACJ Raja observed that “if ragging is happening in a highly reputed institution such as the CMC, then it may become contagious and spread to other institutions too”.
He also expressed concern over how such incidents could recur despite having anti-ragging squads and committees. “Even the warden must be held responsible”, the judge said.
Srinivasan replied that the college management “will not spare anyone if found guilty. There shall be no compassion,” the counsel submitted.
The court also said that the management should safeguard the interests of the junior students. The court adjourned the case by two weeks and decided to wait for the progress of the probe.
Meanwhile, the junior students, especially those who had voiced their concerns and whistleblowers, are a worried lot.
“Multiple threats have been issued. They (the college management) are more bothered about finding the person who had complained rather than considering whether the seniors’ act was appropriate”, a junior student told South First. He requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.
The junior students are also angry. They said while their complaint had named 30 seniors, only seven students were named in the FIR, and they are now out on bail.
The college authorities denied receiving any complaints. They said no formal complaint was made, but an anonymous letter and a video clip of the alleged incident were sent to the management.
When contacted for comments, the college principal’s office told South First that the queries would be answered by email in the next few days.
Members of the freshman batch claimed they were hit on the testicles, paraded in their underwear, and suspended upside down. Some were even stripped naked.
One of the victims had posted specific details of the horrific act on the social media platform, Reddit.
The student in his post informed that their entire batch of junior students was physically abused in multiple wayoverof a month after their joining.
The student detailed being assaulted in ways like “hitting the testicles of students with any object, including one’s hands, hockey sticks, glass bottles, any stick [sic]” and “squeezing and pinching the nipples of the students to inflict severe pain, often until the point of severe injury such as bleeding.”
Several doctors condemned the act on social media.
Video proof of severe ragging in Christian Medical College, Vellore. Kindly share and expose the acts occuring here for society to know the problems in not only this institution but widespread among other medical colleges in various degrees. pic.twitter.com/si6lAGCZh0
— cmcvellorestudent (@studenxperience) November 6, 2022
