Shalini Chauhan, an undercover cop, disguised herself as a college student to solve a case related to ragging at MGM Medical College, Indore. She performed a thorough investigation and managed to gather enough information about a blind case with on going investigators prolonging for almost five months.
Shalini invested her time to mingle among the students of the college so that no one suspects her disguised identity as a medical student. She was on her first major job and left no stone unturned to solve the case that she was assigned.
Following a blind case
An anonymous complaint that consisted of some WhatsApp chats and the location of some flats were received by the police. These locations were of those flats where the first-year students were called by the seniors for ragging.
Shalini assumed the role of a nurse and spent some time at the canteen, tea stall, and other places in the college where she could talk to people and pretend to be working without being suspected of her real identity. She maintained her keen-eyed investigation by observing the seniors who were admonishing the freshmen. This investigation led her to 11 senior-year students accused of ragging a group of freshmen in the month of July 2022.
Nine of these 11 accused are from Madhya Pradesh, one from Bihar, and one from Bengal. The earth beneath their feet moved a little when they were summoned to the Sanyogitaganj Police Station and were given notices for the same. The investigators said that these people would bring pressure on the juniors to perform obscene activities and that it would be very difficult to get hold of them without going undercover.
Recent cases of Ragging in Assam
Fourteen students were rusticated from a hostel after the University Grants Commission received a complaint from a junior. The student complained of ragging with him and his batchmates, some of which included pressure on the juniors to perform the personal chores of the seniors. This incident took place at Government Dental College Silchar. The accused have been debarred from the hostel for a few months but have been permitted to attend classes as of now.
In another incident, an FIR was registered against five students for inflicting “extreme mental and physical torture” at Dibrugarh University in Assam. The prime accused Rahul Chetry surrendered after a few days. When asked, he pleaded not guilty and was hopeful for the student who jumped from the second floor of the hostel building to recover fast.
The victim of the incident was admitted with a vertebral fracture according to the doctors. The family of the person insisted upon the fact that their son was still traumatized from the ragging that forced him to attempt suicide.
Laws Related to Ragging in India
Ragging in Universities and Colleges, especially those in Medical colleges in India are a matter of concern. What started as a humorous practice, soon became a cause of many life-threatening cases. In 2001, the Supreme Court banned ragging in India and anyone found guilty shall have to spend three years of their lives in prison and pay a hefty amount as a fine. Also, if the universities do not take such matters seriously, legal action can also be taken against them.
