Analysis: Young Lives Lost Despite Anti-Ragging Rules

Tamil Nadu was the first state to bring anti-ragging legislation in 1997, driven by the alarming surge in ragging incidents.

An 18-year-old MBBS student of a medical college in Gujarat died after allegedly being made to stand for three hours during ragging by his seniors in the hostel. Anil Natwarbhai Methaniya was a first-year student at GMERS Medical College and Hospital at Dharpur in Patan district.

Fifteen seniors, all second-year medical students, have been arrested. They allegedly made some juniors, including the victim, stand in a hostel room for more than three hours on Saturday (November 16) night and subjected them to "mental and physical torture," according to an FIR (First Information Report).

"The anti-ragging committee called all the students involved -those who were ragging and also being ragged. We found that students were called for ragging or what the seniors called an 'introduction'.  An FIR has been lodged against all the involved students. The committee has debarred the involved students from academic activities until completion of inquiries," said Manish Ramavat, CEO, GMERS Medical College and Hospital, who oversees 13 medical colleges in Gujarat.