Surat Medical College Ragging Case: Third Accused Doctor Arrested, Probe Underway

In the ongoing investigation into the tragic suicide of junior medical student Harsh Pandya at the Government Medical College in Surat, Gujarat, police have arrested yet another resident doctor. According to police officials, the accused, Dr. Anuj Maheshwari, was arrested on Monday. With this latest arrest, the total number of resident doctors in custody has reached three, while efforts are underway to nab the fourth accused.

Three Doctors Arrested So Far

Assistant Commissioner of Police Z.R. Desai stated that Dr. Anuj Maheshwari was arrested on Monday, following the arrests of Dixit Gevadiya and Hina Bhoot on Sunday. The fourth accused, Nirali Vasava, a resident of Vyara, remains at large. The police had registered a case against four second-year postgraduate students of the government medical college—affiliated with the New Civil Hospital—under Section 108 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for abetment of suicide. The FIR was lodged based on a report submitted by the anti-ragging committee.

Allegations of Harassment and Confinement

According to the complaint filed by the institution, second-year resident doctors were strictly prohibited from assigning any work to first-year resident doctors. However, it is alleged that 10 first-year resident doctors in the microbiology department were systematically harassed. Harsh had enrolled in the college in March-April, and complaints alleged that he and other juniors were humiliated and mistreated for three to four months. The accused allegedly even complained to the faculty against the juniors, claiming they were not performing their duties properly.

The complaint further revealed that on August 5, senior students sent WhatsApp messages summoning first-year students to the serology lab of the microbiology department, where they were allegedly illegally confined for about two hours, mentally harassed, and subjected to derogatory remarks.