We discuss trauma associated with Ragging and the impact it has on the psyche of an individual but this is not the time to simply talk-talk but to come out and come up with necessary action following a severe penalty. A second year Payal Tadvi, a Gynaecologist was the victim of ill-fated ragging that becomes the reason for her death. She is a resident of Mumbai and was a doctor with the B.Y.L Nair Hospital in Mumbai Central. It has been reported that she committed suicide inside her hostel room on May 22, 2019.
Husband of the victim put up a statement telling NDTV, “ She was picked on for being lower caste and class and was ragged quite a bit by her seniors. The seniors said they will not let her study. They used to humiliate her on WhatsApp too.” Three seniors have been accused of her death and they are in a run. Bhakti Mehera, 26, is one of the three senior doctors accused of harassing her mentally with ragging as a tool. The two other doctors- Ankita Khandelwal and Hema Ahuja- have moved an anticipatory bail application before the session court in Mumbai.
A senior police officer at the Agripada Police station Deepak Kundal says NDTV, “ A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed and the three accused also face a case under a stringent law, which gives no scope for bail, to protect Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes from atrocities. The three doctors have also been booked under the Atrocities Act, the Anti- Ragging Act and the IT Act and Section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC.
Many minority communities have taken the protest to the street and have been claiming justice for the unfair treatment on the Dalit and other minority communities existing.
Payal’s mother told NDTV that she placed a complaint to the management but no action was taken against the accused. Management has promised her by telling her that they will look after the matter but it seems like it felt into deaf ears. On the other hand, BYL Nair Hospital’s dean Ramesh Bharmal Denied any allegations proving the complaint as false and that no report has been filed till date.
Ragging is not a small scale issue and its practice must be curbed from any educational and other institutions. It’s a form of abuse that shouldn’t knock the door of any mercy or should be given any mercy. Ragging can kill a person mentally and can lead to trauma remains imprinted on the victim as a scar. The government along with the police must intervene with stricter rules on the perpetrator. It should be considered just an issue but necessary actions following at the initial is a must.
