AIIMS suspends 12 for ragging juniors
Five fifth-semester students of AIIMS have been suspended for three months for ragging juniors. They won't be allowed to attend classes during this time. In a separate case, seven BSc students were suspended for misbehaving with a junior. Following the incidents, security has been upped in and around hostels. Seniors have been warned of strict action on the slightest suspicion of misconduct.
Ragging can send you to jail for 10 years
In India, ragging is banned in all campuses. Such acts are punishable by fines of up to Rs. 50,000, jail terms ranging from six months to 10 years, and awarding of certificates that "the student had indulged in ragging" which can adversely affect career prospects.
When ragging turned fatal
There have been several ragging cases which have led to death of victims. In 1996, Rajah Muthiah Medical College student Pon Navarasu's dismembered body was found across different parts of Tamil Nadu. In 2009, Aman Satya Kachroo succumbed to injuries after being assaulted by drunk seniors. In 2012, Ajmal PM, a student at a Bengaluru engineering college, was set on fire by his seniors.
Are the marginalized more at risk?
It appears reserved-category students are more vulnerable to such incidents. The complainant in one of the AIIMS ragging cases is a tribal student form Rajasthan's Dholpur. In 2012, first-year MBBS student Anil Kumar Meena, the second topper in the ST category in the entrance test, hung himself to death in his hostel room. Having come from a Hindi-medium background, he was reportedly facing discrimination.
