3 medical students suspended for ''ragging'' first-year MBBS student in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Three students of the Government Medical College in Nagarkurnool district of Telangana were suspended for ragging a first-year MBBS student, the principal said on Thursday. Following a meeting of the Anti-Ragging Committee on Wednesday, disciplinary action was initiated against the three senior students—one from the third year and two from the second year, she added.

The Anti-Ragging Committee imposed penalties, barring the three students from academic activities at the college and expelling them from the hostel for periods ranging from one to three months, college officials said. Police registered a case against the three students after their junior student accused them of ragging him on March 25 in the institute's hostel room.

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In his complaint to the police, the first-year MBBS student claimed that he was "humiliated" by his seniors. One of them allegedly beat him with a belt and slapped him. The seniors also demanded his UPI PIN, and when he refused, they beat him again. The three students also forced him to perform the "air chair" punishment—a physical exercise where a person must squat as if sitting on an invisible chair, holding the position for an extended period, the complainant alleged. After 30 minutes, they made him hold a 5 kg LPG cylinder, the junior student alleged.