Al-Ameen Medical College and Hospital in Vijayapura was in the news on Wednesday following an alleged case of ragging of a student from Jammu and Kashmir. While the college authorities termed it as false and said that it was just a case of altercation between students during a cricket match, in a subsequent development the police registered an FIR and arrested five senior students.
The reported incident took place on Tuesday during the match and the student was allegedly assaulted by his seniors later in the day.
The allegation gained traction after student leader of Jammu and Kashmir Nasir Khuehami posted about the incident on his X account. As the student leader from Jammu and Kashmir had tagged his post on social media to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, senior police officials, including officials from Vijayapura Rural Police Station, visited the college to inquire into the issue.
According to the FIR registered by the Vijayapura Rural Police, the complainant Hamim Gulam Ahmad Bhatt, a second year MBBS student from Anantnag district in Jammu and Kashmir, was forced to leave the ground and coerced into dancing and saluting against his will, while also being subjected to verbal abuse. The complainant who was chosen as the captain of the cricket team of the 2023 batch was also allegedly assaulted by the seniors in his hostel room.
Five arrested
However, after inquiring into the incident and further investigation, the Vijayapura Rural Police registered an FIR against five students and arrested them based on the complaint filed by Hamim.
They gave the names of the students as Mohammed Zainul Zulfikar Ali Kasar of Vijayapura, Sameer Kashimpeer Tadapatri of Sandur in Ballari district, Shaik Sawood Mudagal of Raichur district, Mansoor Bhasha of Shiraguppa in Ballari district and Muzaffer alias Mujeeb Jamadar of Hingani in Vijayapura district. Further investigation is on.
Denial
Initially, the college authorities denied the occurrence of any such ragging.
Medical Superintendent of the college Jilani Awati refuted that there was ragging and claimed that it was a mere case of altercation among students during a cricket match.
He said that Hamim might have informed the student leader of Kashmir about the incident and unaware of the full context, the latter might have sought help on social media.
Dr. Awati said that the college will act against any student found guilty of misconduct and said that the college has a strict policy against indiscipline.
Dr. Awati further said that in the four decades of its existence, the college has never reported any case of ragging.
Published – February 19, 2025 09:27 pm IST