Stripped, dumbbells hung from private parts: The ragging horror that unfolded in Kerala medical college

A shocking case of ragging has surfaced from a government nursing college in Kerala’s Kottayam, where first-year students were reportedly stripped naked and tortured with dumbbells.

According to the police, five third-year nursing students have been arrested for subjecting their juniors to months of relentless physical and mental abuse. The arrests were made after six first-year students lodged a complaint, PTI reported.

This disturbing incident comes just days after a 15-year-old student in the state jumped to his death after he was allegedly 'forced to lick' toilet seats by his school seniors after relentless ragging, raising serious concerns about student safety and the enforcement of anti-ragging laws in India.

Here’s a deeper look into the horrifying events that unfolded behind closed doors.

(Please note the report contains details that readers may find distressing)

‘Stabbed with geometry box compass’

The victims in their complaints have detailed the horrific ordeal they endured since November 2024, exposing the extent of the torment inflicted by their seniors.

According to the police, the first-year students were made to stand naked while their seniors hung dumbbells, intended for weightlifting, from their private parts. The victims were also subjected to injuries from sharp objects, including a compass from a geometry box.

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But the cruelty didn’t end there.

Lotion was applied to the wounds to intensify the pain. When the victims screamed in agony, the cream was then forcibly smeared into their mouths. The report further revealed that the seniors allegedly filmed the abuse on video and coerced the juniors into silence by threatening them with severe consequences, including ruining their academic careers.

The complaint also states that senior students regularly extorted Rs 800 each from their juniors on Sundays to buy alcohol, and those who refused were beaten.

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As the situation became unbearable, one victim reached out to his parents, who advised him to file a police complaint with the Kottayam Gandhinagar police.

Five students arrested

At first, the police treated the incident as just a dispute between juniors and seniors, according to The Hindu.

However, as the investigation progressed, they uncovered a chilling case of ragging that had been taking place for three months.

The students arrested have been identified as Samuel John (20) from Moonnilavu, Kottayam, Jeeva (19) from Nadavayal, Wayanad, Vivek (21) from Koruthodu, Kottayam, and two from Malappuram—NRijil Jith (20) from Manjeri and Rahul Raj (22) from Wandoor.

A case has been registered against them under Sections 118(1), 308(2), and 351(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), as well as under Sections 3 and 4 of The Kerala Prohibition of Ragging Act.

All five are in police custody and are set to be presented before a magistrate by Wednesday afternoon.

Why ragging remains a menace in India

Despite strong anti-ragging laws, Indian medical colleges have not been able to successfully put an end to the issue.

According to The Times of India, the anti-ragging cell received over 55 complaints from medical colleges across India last November alone, since the academic year began on October 14. This accounts for nearly 42 per cent of all complaints from colleges nationwide.

In 2024, the UGC anti-ragging cell registered 800 complaints, including 222 from medical colleges and 230 from engineering and polytechnic institutions. Despite there being only around 700 medical colleges compared to over 8,000 engineering and technology institutes, medical colleges reported a disproportionately high number of cases. In four tragic instances, victims from medical colleges took their own lives.

But why does ragging remain so widespread?

Many students—both seniors and juniors—view ragging as a rite of passage. Freshers, in particular, often refrain from reporting their harassers due to fear.

Prasanna Shukla, an Indore-based activist, told Article 14, “Junior students don’t complain against ragging due to fear of tarnishing their social image, or being isolated in the institution.”

Dr Ajay Saini, a professor at IIT Delhi, believes existing anti-ragging laws alone are not enough to tackle ragging, as external factors also play a role.

Speaking to Outlook, he said, “Although the laws are in place in every institute, local politics play a very important role (in ragging). Especially in state universities, instances of ragging are more because the students are either members of a union or they have friends in the union, or they know a local MLA or people of the ruling party. And the student getting ragged is often from the weaker section of society.”

Ragging thrives on societal conditioning, and unless colleges and authorities take proactive measures to root out this toxic practice, we will continue to fail to put an end to it.

With input from agencies