CHENNAI: A third-year MBBS student at the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital (GEMCH), Perundurai, has alleged prolonged ragging, unlawful confinement and serious administrative lapses, raising concerns over student safety and oversight in the State-run institution.
In a detailed complaint submitted to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on April 1, 2026, the woman student said she sustained harassment by senior students, operating through an informal "student council", pushed her to attempt suicide in August 2025.
According to the complaint, the issue began in early August 2025 with an unauthorised hostel room reshuffle. Despite repeatedly refusing to vacate her room, citing lack of alternatives, she was drawn into multiple meetings on August 4, 12, 19 and 20 and allegedly pressured to comply.
On August 5, she was summoned and asked to shift rooms even as she was undergoing treatment for vertebral disc prolapse. Audio recordings cited in the complaint purportedly capture seniors asserting that any escalation would "come back" to the student council, indicating the extent of informal authority exercised.
The situation, she said, escalated on the night of August 21. Between about 8.30 pm and 1 am, she was allegedly confined during a hostel meeting attended by senior students and her batchmates. She was first made to stand for a prolonged period and later forced to sit without back support despite visible pain.
"I repeatedly requested them to allow me to leave, but I was not permitted," she said, describing the episode as physically and mentally distressing.
Even after returning to her room, the complaint alleges that the pressure continued late into the night, with repeated insistence that she agree to vacate. She has stated that she was followed into the washroom and warned against "creating sympathy".
The next morning, August 22, she consumed excess propranolol tablets amid severe anxiety and pain and was taken to the emergency ward, where low blood pressure was recorded, and admission was advised. Medical records of the hospitalisation have been annexed.
The complaint makes serious allegations regarding the response of the administration. It states that Dr S Megala, the then assistant warden, instructed medical staff not to make an Accident Register entry and to avoid formal medico-legal documentation, citing directions from a "higher authority".
It further alleges that Dr R Saravana Kumar, the then hostel warden, asked her on August 23 to withdraw her complaint. The Dean, Dr T Ravikumar, was informed through emails sent on August 22 detailing the incident, but no suo motu anti-ragging inquiry or police complaint was initiated at the time, the student has claimed.
An inquiry conducted on September 6, 2025, is described as biased, with the student alleging that Dr Megala, who was part of the complaint, was present during the proceedings. The student has also claimed that her father and brother were questioned, while no similar process was followed for those accused.
RTI replies dated January 6, 2026, cited in the complaint, state that the student council had no authority over hostel room allocation, raising questions over how such directions were enforced. The student has also alleged denial of inquiry records and academic setbacks, including refusal to sign record notebooks.
Seeking an independent probe, she has cited violations of anti-ragging regulations and constitutional safeguards, stating that the institutional response aggravated her distress rather than addressing it.
The complaint has since been taken up by the Union Health Ministry, which on April 6 forwarded it to the Tamil Nadu government for examination and necessary action, with a copy to the National Medical Commission.
Following the Centre's intervention, the student has been allotted a separate room in the hostel and an inquiry is under way, sources told DT Next. A response from the Directorate of Medical Education is awaited.