BENGALURU, Feb 20: Karnataka Police have apprehended five senior MBBS students from Al-Ameen Medical College in Vijayapura for allegedly ragging and physically assaulting a second-year student hailing from Kashmir, officials reported on Wednesday.
The incident is said to have occurred on Tuesday, following a confrontation between students from the 2019 and 2022 MBBS cohorts during a cricket match. As per police sources, the victim, named Hamim Ghulam Bhat, lodged a complaint claiming that his seniors forced him to undertake demeaning tasks, subjected him to verbal abuse, and subsequently attacked him in his hostel room.
The accused individuals, identified as Mohammed Zainul (23), Sameer (24), Shaik Sawood (23), Mansoor Bhasha (24), and Muzzaffer alias Mujeeb Jamadar (23), have been charged under pertinent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Karnataka Education Act, 1983. They allegedly compelled Bhat to record a video of apology and threatened him with severe consequences should he participate in cricket matches for the next four years, as reported by police sources.
In response to Bhat’s complaint, Vijayapura Rural Police initiated an investigation and apprehended the accused on Wednesday. The five students are currently in police custody, with further legal actions pending.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Students Association (JKSA) has strongly denounced the incident and urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to take decisive measures. JKSA National Convenor Nasir Khuehami characterized the event as “not merely ragging, but a grave issue concerning student safety and institutional failure.”
“We must enforce stricter anti-ragging protocols, and the accused need to face severe legal repercussions,” Khuehami stated, calling for immediate action from the Karnataka government and college administration to ensure the safety of out-of-state students. (UNI)
