Gujarat: 6 final-year MBBS students booked for assaulting juniors
Police said the incident took place on the intervening night of March 6 and 7 allegedly after the first-year students made some jokes about their institute on a social media page
Ahmedabad: Six final-year MBBS students were booked on charges of abducting and assaulting three first-year students at the Government Medical College in Gujarat allegedly over some social media posts, police said on Saturday, with college dean saying that four of the students have since been suspended on grounds of ragging.
Police said the incident took place on the intervening night of March 6 and 7 in Bhavnagar district of Gujarat allegedly after the first-year students made some jokes about the institute on a social media page.
Two first information reports (FIRs) were registered in connection with the matter on Saturday naming final-year MBBS students Milan Kakalotar, Piyush Chauhan, Naren Choudhary, Man Patel, Abhiraj Parmar and Balbhadrasinh, an official aware of the matter said.
“In the first complaint, filed at the Nilambaug police station, students Ishankumar Kotak (23) and Akash Karthiya (23) alleged that they were abducted from the Navjeevan Circle area of Bhavnagar and forced into a car by their seniors on the night of March 6,” the official said, quoting from the complaint.
In the complaint, seen by HT, the first-year students have alleged that they were beaten up and verbally abused by the accused in the moving vehicle for nearly three hours. “The attack stemmed from jokes made on an Instagram page titled ‘Convocation Speaks’, created by Kotak and Karthiya,” the complaint added.
In the second complaint, another student accused the final-year students of assaulting him in the college’s hostel. According to the complaint filed by Aman Joshi (24), the first-year student was dragged from his room by Man Patel and Naren Choudhary and taken to a separate room where the accused confronted him over the same issue.
“As per the complaint, the seniors allegedly referred to the earlier attack on Kotak and Karthiya. Joshi was later assaulted, verbally abused and forced to stand into a humiliating position while being threatened with death,” the official said.
Based on the complaints, police have booked the six accused under sections 140(3) (kidnapping for wrongful confinement), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) among others.
An official added that all three students are currently receiving treatment at the Sir T General Hospital in Bhavnagar and their condition is said to be stable, police said.
Taking note of the incident, college dean Dr Sushil Jha said four of the six accused students have been suspended by the institute on grounds of ragging. “It is a case of ragging. The accused, currently completing MBBS internships, will have their case reviewed further when the anti-ragging committee reconvenes next week,” he said.
