Medical colleges figure disproportionately in the list of complaints to UGC's anti-ragging cell, but anti-ragging activists complain that the complaints don't always lead to action. They cite the complaint filed by first year students of JLN Medical College in Raipur about being forced to tonsure their heads and being slapped and physically harassed in the hostel as an example. No action has been taken on the complaint so far.
Within weeks of 2024 academic year starting on Oct 14, the anti-ragging cell has received over 55 complaints from medical colleges across India, which is almost 42% of total complaints received from all colleges. In 2024, of the 800 complaints received by the cell so far, 222 were from medical colleges and 230 from engineering and polytechnic colleges. This is despite the fact that there are just over 700 medical colleges compared to over 8,000 engineering and technology colleges.
In four cases from medical colleges, the victims took their own lives. Anti-ragging activists say UGC data doesn't even capture all incidents because you cannot register an anonymous complaint. "The reported case of severe ragging in RVRS Medical College in Bhilwara, Rajasthan, does not feature in UGC list of complaints though the students tried to complain.
They insisted on the student identity being revealed and since the student was not willing to do so, the complaint does not figure in the list," explained Gaurav Singhal of Society Against Violence in Education (SAVE), a n.