Ragging leads to serious consequences not only for the victims and their parents, but also for those accused of indulging in this act, City Police Commissioner C. Sylendra Babu said here on Wednesday, while addressing the senior students of the Coimbatore Medical College.
“Ragging shatters the future of the victim and also the dreams of their parents. And, the accused cannot pursue the course thereafter,” the Commissioner said.
No honourable student would indulge in ragging. Under the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Ragging Act, 1997, the accused would get a two-year jail term and a fine.
To prevent ragging, the Coimbatore Medical College organised functions at which senior students welcomed those joining the first year of the MBBS course. Yet, a case of ragging was reported last year.
Therefore, the college went one step further this year in inviting a high-level police official to counsel students against ragging. The first year batch was expected to join next month. Mr. Babu made a presentation on the provisions of the Act and even referred to the investigation he conducted into the death of a Vice-Chancellor's son due to ragging in a medical college.
Psychological injury
The Act put the onus on the head of the institution – the Dean of the medical college – to take action against those involved in the ragging and lodge a complaint with the police. If this was not done, the head of the institution would be deemed to have abetted the ragging.
There were three cases of ragging in Coimbatore city last year and 30 deaths because of ragging had been reported in the country so far. Ragging caused physical and psychological injury.
“Remember, even if you force a non-smoker to smoke, it amounts to ragging,” he said. “And, ragging outside the educational institution is also punishable.”
Dean of the college R. Vimala said ragging was a deplorable act.
“There was a black mark [in the college] last year [because of an incident of ragging]. This year, we shall take all efforts to set an example to other institutions,” she said. “Seniors [students] must remember that they and the juniors belong to the same generation.”
