RAJKOT: A shocking case of ragging surfaced at Government Medical College, Bhavnagar, where six MBBS doctors allegedly kidnapped, assaulted, and ill-treated three fellow interns, reportedly offended by an Instagram post created by one of them.
Nilambaug police in Bhavnagar registered two separate FIRs Saturday night, charging the six with kidnapping, wrongful confinement, causing hurt, intimidation, and using obscene language.
In response, the college’s anti-ragging committee held an urgent meeting Saturday and suspended four of the six accused. College authorities confirmed that four of the six accused and the victims were completing Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship at Sir T Hospital, affiliated with the medical college, after completing MBBS. The three victims were living in the college’s boys’ hostel. Two accused had finished the internship.
According to the complaint filed by one of the victims, they created an Instagram page titled ‘Convocation Speaks’ meant for humorous content. However, the accused took offence to the posts and allegedly targeted the interns in retaliation.
On the night of March 6, the complainant received a call from one of the accused, asking him to meet. Upon arrival, he was forced into a car, where another doctor was already present with a driver, called ‘JD’.
Victims forced into murga position in doctor’s room
As they drove towards Jewel Circle, one of the accused began assaulting the two victims inside the car. They were then taken to a street opposite a hotel, where the rest of the accused were waiting.
The group allegedly repeatedly beat up the victims, abused them and accused them of tarnishing the college’s reputation. The complainant was then forced to unlock his phone, and the accused took images from his gallery, threatening to circulate them online. The nature of the images remains unclear.
The victims were then taken to the hostel room of another doctor, where they were allegedly forced into the degrading ‘murga position’ — where one squats with their arms passing under their knees and holds their ears. Additionally, a separate complaint was filed by a hostel resident doctor, stating that two of the accused barged into his room at around 2am while he was asleep and assaulted him repeatedly.
The three victims were treated at Sir T Hospital before lodging a formal complaint with the medical college dean. They later approached the police to file a case. Speaking to reporters, college dean Sushil Jha confirmed that the incident was a clear case of ragging, prompting an immediate meeting of the 11-member anti-ragging committee.
“We suspended four interns with immediate effect and withheld their internship certificates. We will convene another meeting soon to decide the further course of action,” Jha said.
