The internet was surprised when news came out about a 24-year-old lady police officer solving a raging case in Indore Medical College. While many hailed her and the police department for the action, others were surprised by the brilliance of the lady cop posing as a Medical student to solve the case.
According to the Police, a case of ragging was reported at the government-run Mahatma Gandhi Memorial (MGM) medical college in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore. It was based on a complaint filed by an anonymous student to the University Grants Commission (UGC). Consequently, the institute administration filed a criminal case against unidentified students.
Police’s take on Ragging case
As per the statement of the Sanyogitaganj police station in-charge, all the necessary details of the incident were described in the complaint. But, there were no names of the accused mentioned in the report. Some screenshots of chats on a social media platform were also attached to the complaint.
The police said that they were getting anonymous complaints about raging incidents in which students complained about being forced to commit indecent acts. Initially, police came to investigate the case on the campus, but students did not come forward to name the accused or describe any other details out of fear. Consequently, a newly-joined police officer, Shalini, 24, came up with an undercover operation idea in which she posed as a student and went to the college daily to carry out further investigation into the case.
Lady cop poses as a Student
Senior police officers said that Shalini used to pose as a student and went daily to the college. She dressed like other students and wore backpacks, went to college and took lessons. While sitting and chatting with other students, she used to spend time in the canteen and even bunked classes to make sure no one doubted her.
She was able to investigate the case thoroughly and caught hold of the accused. Apart from that, another woman cop disguised as a nurse and two constables were deployed as canteen workers in the same college. They all got together to solve the case. The police confirmed carrying out a detailed investigation of the case and being able to recognize 11 students involved in the act.
Actions taken Into the case
During the investigation, it was found that the accused students used to allegedly harass their juniors and make them perform obscene acts.
As of now, a notice has been sent to the accused under relevant sections of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) with instructions to cooperate in the investigations. Moreover, they have been also asked to appear before the court following the submission of the chargesheet, said the officials.
Taking action into the case, the College administration immediately suspended the accused students for three weeks.
The Rise of ragging cases in Indian Colleges
Such cases are increasing across educational institutions and Colleges in India. A prime reason for this rise is the Improper implementation of anti-ragging policies. Also, there is a lack of active action taken by governments and institutes alike which has caused the rise. It’s a matter of concern because even after strict laws the number of brutal ragging cases is not coming down.
In October, a partially decomposed body of a student was found in a hostel room at the prominent IIT Kharagpur Campus where a 23-year-old mechanical engineering student from Assam had committed suicide. His family alleged that he took the drastic step due to ragging incidents on campus.
There is an immediate need for the government and educational institutions to come together and vigilantly take strict action against ragging cases. Also, every educational institution must constitute an anti-ragging committee where the complaints of students can be heard to prevent any such cases from escalating further.
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