• By Nidhi Giri
  • Mon, 18 Nov 2024 04:18 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Gujarat: Police in Patan district have booked 15 seniors for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after an 18-year-old medical student died after he was allegedly ragged at his college hostel. All the 15 were also suspended by the medical college following a report from its anti-ragging committee. Anil Natwarbhai Methaniya, from Jesda village in Surendranagar district, was a first-year student at GMERS Medical College at Dharpur in Patan. In the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, he was allegedly made to stand for three hours during ragging by seniors at his hostel, after which he died.

The 15 accused were identified in the FIR as Avdhesh Ashok Patel, Hiren Mansukh Prajapati, Tushar Pira Gohelkar, Prakash Madha Desai, Jaimin Savji Chaudhary, Praveen Varjang Chaudhary, Vivek Gaman Rabari, Rutvik Purshottam Limbadiya, Mehul Pratap Dedhatar, Surjal Ruda Baldaniya, Haresh Gambhir Chavda, Vaibhavkumar Vikaskumar Raval, Parag Bharat Kalsariya, Utpal Sailesh Vasava, and Vishal Lagdhir Chaudhary.

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Inspector P J Solanki of Balisana police station said the accused students would be arrested shortly.

The FIR filed at Balisana police station at 12.30 am on Monday, on the basis of complaint by Dr Anilkumar Gokulsingh Bhatija, the Additional Dean of GMERS Dharpur Patan MCH, just after the medical college’s anti-ragging committee completed its inquiry into the matter.

The FIR said that at 8.30 pm on Saturday (November 16), first-year students and second-year students had gathered “for introductions” in the common room located on the second floor of Block B of the boys hostel.

At about 12.30 am on Sunday, Anil Natwar Methaniya fell unconscious and later died. The first-year students subsequently made a representation to the Dean, Dr Hardik Shah, that the second-year students engaged in ragging them by continuously making them stand for three hours straight.

The FIR stated that the Dean immediately called the anti-ragging committee, which included the Dean as chairman and several other faculty as members.

The committee presented a report, which contained statements from 26 witnesses. At least 11 of these witnesses, who testified in person before the committee, said that between 8.30 pm and 12:30 am, the 15 accused had carried out ragging by making them “continuously stand, sing and dance, all the time swearing at them”, sources said.

Following this, Anil Natwarbhai Methaniya fell unconscious, the committee was told. He was immediately taken to the civil hospital attached to the medical college.

The committee then called in all 15 accused second-year students, whose statements matched those of the first-years. All 15 were suspended from the hostel and academic activities, and a police complaint was filed.

On Sunday, the Dean said Methaniya was brought to the Dharpur hospital emergency department by some students in an unconscious state and was later declared dead.

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A late night sit-in demonstration by members of the ABVP at the medical college was also held on Sunday. ABVP members shouted slogans against college authorities, demanding strict action against the accused. There was also a clash with police during the demonstration.

The 15 accused were booked under BNS sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 127(2) (wrongful confinement), 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 190 (all members of unlawful assembly responsible for crime committed) and 296(b) (obscene acts and songs).