Five students arrested for ragging horror in Kerala’s nursing college. | (Photo Courtesy: X/@karthiiiiiii93)
Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council (KNMC) Saturday decided to bar all five accused involved in the ragging incident at the Kottayam Nursing College from continuing their studies.
A council meeting convened here observed that the accused did not deserve to complete their studies or enter the service profession. This means the students cannot study for nursing in any college in Kerala.
Meanwhile, more students have come forward and filed complaints of cruel and severe ragging against the five seniors.
In another development, the department suspended Principal Sulekha A T and Assistant Professor/Assistant Warden-in-Charge of the student hostel, Ajeesh P Mani, pending an inquiry for allegedly failing to prevent ragging and effectively intervene in the matter.
The hostel’s housekeeper-cum-security staff was also ordered to be removed immediately, according to a statement issued by the Health Minister’s office.
The action was taken following an inquiry conducted by the Director of Medical Education, as per the instructions of Health Minister Veena George, the statement added.
A nursing council member described the Kottayam ragging incident as an “extremely cruel act” and said it cannot be justified under any circumstances.
“We will never justify the incident. What we want to emphasise is that allowing such individuals into the nursing profession would be a disaster,” said Usha Devi, a council member.
She said the Council would soon inform the concerned authorities of its decision to debar the accused students.
“We made the decision in a way that leaves them no chance to continue their studies. Through the District Health Services (DHS), we will inform the government of our decision, which will also be conveyed to the college authorities,” the Council member told a news agency.
The state government has ordered an investigation into the incident, while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought a report from the state police within 10 days.
Five third-year students of Kottayam Government Nursing College were arrested as videos of cruel ragging of first-year students.
The arrested students are Rahul Raj, NS Jeeva, NP Vivek, Rigil Jeeth, and Samuel Johnson.
