By IANS
Chandigarh : The suicide by a first-year MBBS student at his home in Amritsar Sunday has become a mystery with his family alleging that it was the fallout of ragging but not getting a case registered even four days after his death.
Manjot Singh, who had joined classes at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) here Aug 1, hanged himself from a fan and committed suicide at his home in Amritsar Aug 5.
The family of the student has alleged that he took the extreme step due to depression caused by ragging in the GMCH hostel.
They cremated Manjot without lodging a complaint with the local police or even informing the authorities of his unnatural death. No post-mortem examination was conducted.
A bright student, Manjot had secured the 38th rank in the All-India Pre Medical Test this year but was refused admission by authorities of the prestigious Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) in New Delhi as he was found to be colour blind.
He was allowed to join GMCH after doctors at the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here opined that his colour blindness would not hinder his studies and future work.
Sources at GMCH said Manjot was depressed ever since he was denied admission to MAMC. However, his family alleges that he committed suicide due to ragging in the college.
But they did not complain to the college authorities or inform them about the boy’s death. When a teacher at GMCH noticed his absence from class, he contacted the family in Amritsar and was told that the student had committed suicide three days ago.
The GMCH management is refuting the ragging charge levelled by the family and has constituted a committee to probe the allegation. Krishan Vij, the acting principal of the college said he had received no complaint of ragging either in the college or the hostel.
“Action will be taken if the family makes a representation in this regard,” Vij added.
Students, especially freshers, seemed divided on whether there was ragging in the college.
“Some seniors have been indulging in ragging under the pretext of interaction that is being officially allowed by the college authorities. In this case, ragging in the hostel could have aggravated Manjot’s depression,” one student felt.
But a section of students said that they had not heard of any ragging in the college that could drive someone to commit suicide. The students and teachers of the medical college held a condolence meeting Wednesday.