Two female students at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College in Barisal (SBMC) allegedly fell victim to ragging, highlighting the prevailing issue of bullying within educational institutions.
Moreover, journalists attempting to cover the story were allegedly assaulted, further escalating the situation.
The incident unfolded when two female students were summoned to a room in the college dormitory and were allegedly harassed during the late hours of Wednesday (23 August).
The victims were allegedly subjected to prolonged standing, verbal abuse, and threats, and had her personal belongings, including her phone, forcibly examined.
Later, as one of the student’s condition deteriorated to the point of unconsciousness, she was admitted to the emergency department of the hospital, according to sources.
The college’s academic council swiftly responded to the issue, recording statements from the victims of the ragging incident on Saturday (26 August). During this time, a group of teachers allegedly attacked journalists when they tried to talk to the affected student and her mother, leading to the vandalism of a Channel 24 camera.
SBMC Vice-Principal Nazimul Haque, who was in charge of investigating the incident, addressed the incident involving the journalists labelling it an “unexpected incident” and assured that efforts were being made to resolve the situation.
Commenting on the matter, he told the media, “It was a minor incident, nothing serious. But we are looking into it.”
Allegedly, the whole incident was orchestrated by 7th batch Dental student Fahmida Roshan, alias Prova, and Neelima Hossain, alias Jui, from the 50th batch.
Reportedly, the aforementioned individuals identified themselves as Chhatra League leaders, a claim that has been debunked as the organisation currently lacks a functional committee at the institution.
The victim, who had fallen ill due to the traumatic experience, on Saturday, claimed that she and her roommate had been subjected to ongoing abuse and intimidation.
