Patan: An 18-year-old MBBS student in Gujarat’s Patan district died after allegedly being forced to stand for around three hours during a ragging session by his senior students at the medical college. An official, on Sunday, confirmed the incident saying that it occurred at the GMERS Medical College and Hospital in the Dharpur area of Patan. It is alleged that the deceased, who fell unconscious after being made to stand for a long time, was a first-year MBBS student at the college.

The victim has been identified as Anil Methaniya, who was a first-year student at the Patan Medical College. According to college officials, Methaniya collapsed after standing for an extended period and was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead despite attempts to revive him.

College Dean, Dr Hardik Shah explained that Methaniya fell unconscious after being made to stand for three hours while introducing himself to seniors in the hostel. “His classmates told us that he died after being subjected to ragging,” Shah said, adding that the college’s anti-ragging committee had launched an investigation into the incident. If the seniors are found responsible, they will face disciplinary action.

The local police have registered a case of accidental death, and the student’s body has been sent for postmortem to determine the exact cause of death. According to an official from the Balisana police station, a probe is being done into the death of the medical student. 

A first-year student who witnessed the incident shared details on condition of anonymity, saying that seven or eight senior students forced a group of junior students to stand for about three hours and introduce themselves one by one. “We were told not to show any signs of agitation. After a while, one of us, Anil, collapsed. We rushed him to the hospital, but he died,” the student said.

Methaniya’s cousin, Dharmendra Methaniya, spoke to reporters about the family’s grief. “I was informed by my uncle that Anil had been hospitalized after fainting. When I arrived, I was told he had died,” he said. “We’re waiting for the postmortem report to understand the exact cause of death. We’ve learned that some third-year students made him stand for several hours as part of ragging, and that’s when he began feeling dizzy and collapsed.”

Further details regarding the death of the student are being awaited.