On November 6, screenshots from Reddit and video footage were shared on Twitter describing shocking instances of ragging at the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore in Tamil Nadu. According to first-year students at CMC, they were subjected to physical, sexual and mental abuse by third-year students repeatedly. Addressing a press meet on Wednesday, November 9, CMC director Dr Vikram Mathews informed the media that seven students have been suspended in connection with the ragging allegations submitted via an anonymous letter to the college administration. He said that an internal inquiry committee has been set up to investigate the matter, adding that the college’s anti-ragging centre is also helping the investigation. The investigation’s report can be expected in the next two to three days, following which a police complaint will be filed, the director said.
Speaking to the media, Vikram Mathews said, “We have received an anonymous letter, the process is underway and we are investigating. Even though it is an anonymous letter, we have initiated an investigation as per the rules of the land. As soon as the report is submitted, action will be taken.” The CMC director further added, “We do not condone ragging of any kind. We have a zero tolerance approach to ragging.”
When asked about the videos of the ragging taking place on the college campus, he said, “Any type of video can come. It is an anonymous letter that has come. We have taken action. We have initiated all the processes that are due in the law. We will get a report and we will submit the report. That process that includes external people, will include the police as well (sic).” He also said that the seven students would remain suspended until the inquiry was over.
The issue came to light after a Reddit post by a student at CMC describing the horrific acts of ragging at the institution. The screenshots of the now-deleted Reddit post are being widely shared on social media. The post detailed how freshers were ragged mercilessly and treated inhumanely by senior students at CMC.
In the post, the student said that at the Junior Mr Men’s Hostel competition held on October 9, freshers were forced to display themselves in their underwear in the presence of the warden, deputy warden, and some doctors who acted as the judges. According to the allegations, the ragging included various forced acts called ‘buzzing’, a term used to refer to hitting freshers in the testicles with bottles and hockey sticks, while ‘tuning’ was the practice of pinching nipples until they bled profusely and caused serious injury. Another form of ragging the post described was ‘Jupiter watch’, in which freshers were taken to the top level of the hostel and held upside down by their legs.