Ragging again in Himachal; seniors suspended,fined

Less than a fortnight after teenager Aman Kachroo was allegedly beaten to death by his seniors at Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Tanda....

Less than a fortnight after teenager Aman Kachroo was allegedly beaten to death by his seniors at Rajendra Prasad Medical College in Tanda,Kangra,a fresh case of violent ragging has come to light in the state,this time at the premier Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) in Shimla.

Two interns,Dr Nikhil Verma and Dr Sushant Sharma,were suspended for six months and fined Rs 1,000 each on Friday after it emerged they had slapped around and abused several first-year MBBS students at the IGMCs Raman and Bhabha hostels the previous night. The ragging allegedly continued for an hour,and the juniors were reportedly asked to sing obscene songs until they were rescued by some other senior students.

Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said the incident had been brought to his notice by Health Minister Dr Rajeev Bindal and Principal Secretary (Health) Deepak Sanan. Since the cabinet today has also approved the draft Ordinance to make ragging a cognizable offence,the college authorities have been told to act tough,and not spare the guilty,if the charges are found to be true, Dhumal said.

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The CM later confirmed that action had been taken against two interns.

Asked why,despite strong and repeated Supreme Court rulings and observations against ragging,no FIR had been registered against the accused,Health Minister Bindal argued the incident was a case of manhandling of junior,and should not be seen as ragging per se.

The incident happened because the interns were under the influence of liquor, Bindal said. The anti-ragging committee and disciplinary committee of the college have already taken action,and the interns have also tendered a written apology.

Principal Dr S Kashyap said,the anti-ragging committee acted quite promptly during the night.