Display anti-ragging posters in colleges: DTE

Following the arrest of seven trainee doctors at Thane for ragging and assaulting freshers, the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) has issued a circular to all engineering and pharmaceutical colleges in the state asking them to put up posters displaying the Anti-Ragging Act at vantage points in the college campus. The intention, according to officials, is to ensure that the perpetrators do not have an excuse of not knowing the law if caught, while also arming new students with the knowledge that there is a law to safeguard them. Speaking about the ragging incident on Thursday, Dr Subhash Mahajan, in-charge director, DTE said that it was unfortunate that despite various steps being taken to create awareness of the pitfalls of ragging and the punishment thereof, students still indulged in bullying newcomers. “The information brochure provided by DTE for students aspiring to take admission in engineering or pharmaceutical colleges has an entire section dedicated to the anti-ragging law, its rules and punishments. However, it has been found that senior students tend to overlook the same and engage in ragging. Hence, we decided to issue the circular to all the colleges so that such incidents can be nipped in the bud,” said Dr Mahajan. While the medical college where the ragging incident took place in Thane does not come under the purview of the DTE, Dr Mahajan said that preventive measures like asking colleges to put up posters of the law in classrooms, corridors, canteens and recreation rooms would ensure that senior students are not tempted to cross their limits. “In the event of the colleges not heeding to the complaints, students can get their grievances addressed by writing to the DTE or the joint director’s office. Such activities cannot be allowed to flourish and hence we are taking all possible steps to prevent a repeat of the Thane incident,” said Dr Mahajan. Meanwhile, reliable sources have informed that the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) has also asked all medical colleges to take preventive measures to ensure that ragging incidents do not occur again.