3 BJ Medical College PG students suspended for ragging; Gujarat orders probe

Ahmedabad: Three second-year PG students of the city's BJ Medical College have been suspended for periods ranging from six months to one year for allegedly ragging first-year resident doctors, Gujarat Health Minister Praful Pansheriya said on Thursday. The action was taken based on a report submitted by the government-run college's anti-ragging committee, Pansheriya said in a statement.

Another complaint about second-year postgraduate students of the Orthopaedics Department ragging 13 first-year students at Government Medical College in Bhavnagar was also being treated with utmost seriousness, he said in another statement. Pansheriya said the complaint of ragging of first-year resident (PG) students of the Orthopaedic Department at the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad has been taken very seriously.

"Based on the report submitted by the anti-ragging committee, three second-year students involved in ragging have been put under suspension ranging from six months to one year," the minister said.

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Minister orders ragging probe

The Gujarat government and the health department were committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and fear-free educational environment for students, he emphasised. Pansheriya appealed to students to stay away from activities such as ragging and foster mutual respect, compassion and cooperation.

The minister also said he directed senior officials to take necessary action in the complaint of ragging at Government Medical College in Bhavnagar. Pansheriya has instructed the college dean and the anti-ragging committee to immediately submit a detailed report on allegations that six second-year postgraduate students of the Orthopaedics Department ragged 13 first-year students.

"Discipline, morality and safety of students are paramount in education, so there is no place for inhuman activities like ragging in the state," he said. The minister warned of strict action against those found guilty in accordance with the rules.