GMC students accused of ragging missing8217; from campus

MUMBAI, OCT 11: Seven students of the Grant Medical College who are facing an inquiry for ragging junior students have been reported mis...

MUMBAI, OCT 11: Seven students of the Grant Medical College who are facing an inquiry for ragging junior students have been reported missing8217; from the college campus since the last few days.

The college authorities had carried out a probe after two undergraduate students complained they were ragged in one of the hostel rooms. The students had said they were called to one of the hostel rooms on the night of August 19 this year and forced to strip and simulate some sexual acts. A committee formed to investigate the matter concluded that there was substance in the complaint of ragging, and the issue was discussed at a college council meeting last month. Following this, it was decided to lodge a complaint with the JJ Marg police station so that proper investigations could be carried out and it could be determined if the case could be registered under the recently passed Anti-Ragging Act, sources said.

The father of one of the accused students was, meanwhile, recently trapped by the ACB while trying to bribe a police officer for hushing up the matter. The father, Atul Kumar Rohatgi, a BHEL official, and one Subhash Bakshi were arrested and are presently in police custody, police sources said. After this incident, the seven accused students have not been seen in the college campus, and police are trying to find out if they are deliberately trying to evade the police force.

According to Tanaji Ghadge, senior inspector attached to JJ Marg police station, though the students have still not been declared as absconders, police want to know why they are missing from campus. At present, police are gathering evidence and are yet to decide whether to arrest the students. Permission will have to be taken from the magistrate so that an arrest warrant can be issued against the students, he added.

However, according to the hospital dean Dr A C Mohanty, after a complaint was registered with the police, the authorities also suspended the seven students from college and asked them to vacate their hostel rooms. Therefore, there is no reason why these students should be present in the college campus unless police want them for investigation, he pointed out.