The Gujarat Police on Monday arrested 15 second-year students of a medical college in Gujarat's Patan district after a first-year student died during the ragging. The police have charged them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. According to the FIR filed by the college authorities, they were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder among other offences, it said.
All the arrested students are in the second year of their medical graduation. According to the FIR filed by the college authorities, they allegedly, made some of their juniors, including the victim, Anil Methaniya (18), stand in a hostel room for more than three hours on Saturday night and subjected them to "mental and physical torture."
Talking about the development, the Inspector of Patan's Balisana police station PJ Solanki, said. "We have arrested all the 15 accused,"
What did College anti-ragging committee say?
Dr Hardik Shah, the college dean and the college's anti-ragging committee chairperson, said he took the statements of 26 students -- 11 of the first-year and 15 second-year students. The committee found that 11 first-year students were subjected to ragging by a group of 15 second-year students, a college official said on Monday.
As per the FIR lodged at Balisana police station shortly after midnight on Monday, the 15 accused called 11 first-year students, including Methaniya and his classmates, to a hostel room on Saturday night for "introduction".
They made the juniors stand for nearly three-and-a-half hours while forcing them to sing and dance, utter abusive words and not leave the room.
Methaniya's health deteriorated as the students were subjected to mental and physical torture. Based on a complaint by the college's additional dean Dr Anil Bhathija, the FIR was lodged against 15 students under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, wrongful confinement, unlawful assembly, and using obscene words.
(With inputs from agencies)
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