Bhubaneswar: While parents of Nishant Kumar, the first year MBBS student of Bhima Bhoi Medical College and Hospital in Odisha’s Balangir district who died after falling off the roof of the hostel on April 22, alleged that he took the extreme step after being harassed by seniors, his chat details with one of his friend revealed shocking accounts of ragging in the medical college.
In their complaint, Nishant’s father Krishan Kumar alleged that his son had been subjected to ragging since April 13, two day after he arrived at the college. He was so depressed that he committed suicide on April 22, he said, adding that “this act of compelling him to commit suicide comes under the category of ‘murder’. Blaming the anti-ragging cell of the institute, he requested Balagir Town Police to lodge an FIR against it for the carelessness leading to the death of his only son.
“A few hours before his death, he had a video call with his mother and was disturbed over being ragged every day. He told her that his seniors had asked him to welcome some outside students who had come to the campus that day by abusing them in the filthiest of language,” Kumar told the media.
Acting on the complaint, police have registered a case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC and started an investigation.
On the other hand, the chats revealed that the first-year students were subjected to 3-4 hours of ragging daily and there was a reign of fear. The seniors forced the juniors to greet them. They were also not allowed to play or go to the park. Nishant had asked his parents not to lodge a complaint with the institute as he feared that the intensity of the ragging might increase thereafter.
According to sources, the first-year MBBS student from Haryana, Nishant Kumar, had taken admission in the MCH a month back and was residing at the four-storey New Boys Hostel. On Friday, he went to the hostel terrace around 2 pm after having lunch. A few minutes later, hostel inmates got to know that he had fallen off the roof and sustained critical injuries. They rushed him to the hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Also Read: Second Death At Odisha’s Bhima Bhoi Medical College; Family Cries ‘Murder AFter Ragging’
Speaking to the media, Nishant’s mother, who reached Balangir along with other family members on Saturday, said that her son was psychologically tormented and later murdered. “He had cleared NEET without any coaching in the first attempt. Due to ragging and torture by seniors, he was not able to concentrate on studies and prepare his schedule,” she added.
The family members further alleged that the seniors had made some WhatsApp groups and used to call the juniors for ragging late in the night.
The student’s uncle, Rabindra, had earlier told the media that he had recently mentioned ragging while speaking to his parents. “My nephew had shared that he was being ragged for the last four days. This might have led him to take the extreme step or somebody could have pushed him off the roof,” he said.
The medical college dean, Sabita Mohapatra, had earlier dismissed this allegation.
Notably, a girl student had committed suicide in this state-run medical college, which is only four years old, by hanging from the hostel window in October last year.
