Five final-year MBBS students of AIIMS Rajkot have been arrested in connection with the alleged suicide of their classmate and student, 26-year-old Ratan Kumar Meghwal. The arrests were made shortly after the victim’s father filed a complaint at the Gandhigram Police Station in Rajkot, after which the police started an investigation.

According to a report by The Times of India, the accused students have been booked on charges of abetment to suicide, along with other provisions of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

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What happened in the case?

According to a report, the student died by suicide in the early hours of March 14 after being hit by a train near Ghanteshwar on Jamnagar Road in Rajkot. The police claimed to have found a bag at the crime scene containing a mobile phone, a tablet, and a notebook. The police claimed to have found a 17-page note as well, where the student had written that some of his batchmates had physically assaulted him and mentally harassed him over time.

The report claimed that the note was written in Hindi and English and contained details of the alleged harassment that had allegedly been going on since January. The student had claimed to have been harassed by his batchmates over suspicions of his association with a girl. The note had also claimed to be his dying declaration.

Complaint and further course of action

The complaint in this case was given by the victim’s father, Mohanlal Meghwal, who is a resident of Rajasthan. In the complaint, he said that harassment of his son had taken a toll on his mental health, leading him to take such an extreme step that ended his life. Following this complaint and based on the evidence gathered from the crime scene, the police arrested the five accused students. They have been sent to judicial custody.

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This case is being investigated by ACP Chintan Patel of the SC/ST Cell. According to the report in Times of India, “The student had also attempted to take his life in January too, after leaving the AIIMS hostel. However, he was rescued and later taken home. His father said that he had returned to Rajkot to appear for his final year MBBS exams. In this case, the accused students have been permitted to appear for their exams this week in police custody.”