GMC confirms ragging, refuses to link it to doctor’s death

Surat: Government Medical College (GMC), Surat, which is at the centre of the controversy following the death of resident doctor Dr Harsh Pandya, has said that although ragging of first-year resident doctors was established during its inquiry, there was no direct link between the ragging and his suicide.

The conclusion was stated in the anti-ragging committee report submitted by the GMC dean to Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) on Wednesday evening.

According to the report, the allegations of verbal abuse and humiliation were found to fall within the definition of ragging under the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) anti-ragging regulations. The inquiry also found that all nine first-year resident doctors in the microbiology department had been subjected to ragging.

However, the report said Dr Pandya’s unnatural death could not be directly attributed to ragging, as there could have been multiple reasons behind his taking the extreme step. It also noted that no prior official complaint regarding the ragging had been received by the institution.

The report records instances of verbal abuse and humiliation faced by first-year residents from certain second-year resident doctors. It also notes that the first-year residents were burdened with an excessive workload.