Suicide of PG student after ‘ragging’: Gujarat suspends Surat medical college Microbiology department head

The health department also issued a show-cause notice to Surat Government Medical College (GMC) Dean Dr Jayesh Brahmabhatt.

Dr Pandya, a first-year Microbiology student was found dead at his hostel room on the GMC campus on August 9. According to sources, two days before the suicide incident, all 10 students of the first-year Microbiology department, including Pandya, a Dalit, had gone to meet the head of the department, Dr. Sumaiya Mulla, to make a representation about alleged ragging by their seniors, but she was not available. These students later made representations to a faculty member, Dr Sangita Rajdev, and informed her about alleged ragging incidents. However, no steps had been taken, sources said. Sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention) of Atrocities Act were added to the FIR registered at Khatodara police station after the victim’s father made a representation.

According to the government release, the decision to suspend Dr Mulla was taken by Health Minister Praful Pansheriya. The health minister stated that ragging or mental harassment of students would not be tolerated in any educational or medical institutions in Gujarat.

“The state government has a ‘zero tolerance’ policy against ragging and will ensure that such incidents do not happen in future,” the minister said in the release.

“During the period of suspension, Dr Sumaiya Mulla’s headquarters will be Government Medical College, Vadodara. She will not be able to leave the headquarters in Vadodara without the written permission of the competent officer. She will not be able to engage in any private job or business during the suspension period. If these conditions are violated, the subsistence allowance payable to her will be stopped and additional strict disciplinary action will be taken,” the release said.

Police case against 4 students

After the suicide death, the GMC had constituted an anti-ragging committee, which submitted its report to the dean accusing four senior microbiology students of ragging. Based on the report, the accused students — Nirali Vasave, Anuj Maheshwari, Dishita Gevariya and Hina Bhut — were suspended from the institute for six months on August 10. The four senior resident doctors were booked on charges of wrongful confinement and causing mental harassment in an FIR registered at Khatodara police station based on a complaint filed by GMC dean Dr Jayesh Brahmbhatt, citing the findings of the anti-ragging committee.

The accused doctors were booked under BNS Sections 127 (2) (whoever wrongfully confines any person), 352 (intentional insults intended to provoke a breach of the public peace) and 54 (person who helped or encouraged a crime is also present when it happens) and relevant sections of the Atrocity Act.

Two of the accused students — Dr Anuj Maheshwari (29), a resident of Althan in Surat and native of Uttar Pradesh, and Dr Dishita Ghevariya (29), a resident of GMC hostel and native of Bhavnagar in Gujarat – appeared before police on August 14. Police allowed them to go home after recording their statements. The two other accused students are yet to be present before the police.

Talking to The Indian Express, Khatodara police inspector N V Bharvad said, “Dr Nirali Vasave and Dr Hina Bhut are absconding. We have sent our teams to locate them, but they were not found.”