New Delhi: A recently graduated doctor at Jodhpur AIIMS in Rajasthan spoke on stage out about the alleged ragging and harassment he faced in the college during the convocation ceremony held on Sunday before the institute’s director intervened and stopped him.
Dr. Vikrant Sharma, an M.Ch. Neurosurgery said he had received a degree, but not justice.
“Justice is still pending,” he was heard saying on the stage after receiving his degree.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilizers Anupriya Patel was the chief guest at the ceremony. But she left while Sharma was still speaking.
Sharma had first complained to the college authorities about alleged ragging by a senior student called Dr Nitin Kumar in 2021. Following this complaint, Sharma claimed some seniors adopted a biased attitude towards him that affected his academics.
In a press conference held Friday, Sharma claimed that some senior doctors in his department failed him three times in a row out of retaliation.
“I later passed the independent examination. Now I’ve been awarded a passing degree on my fourth attempt. I should have passed on my first attempt,” Sharma had alleged.
In a letter to the college authorities back in 2021, he accused senior doctors of not conducting a fair evaluation and deliberately sabotaging his career. He also called for an independent investigation of his first exam attempt, which he had failed.
जोधपुर एम्स दीक्षांत समारोह में एक नजारा ऐसा भी..!! डॉक्टर विक्रांत शर्मा ने डिग्री लेने के बाद इसे अवैधानिक और गलत बताने के लिए जैसे ही माइक पर बोलना चाह, निदेशक ने आकर रोका और एम्स प्रशासन ने माइक बंद कर दिया। फिर भी विक्रांत ने अपनी बात कही की उसे डिग्री मिली है, न्याय नही।… pic.twitter.com/wk1tHvqHkl
— Dr. Ashok Sharma (@ashok_Jodhpurii) July 26, 2026
An old issue
Ragging in medical colleges is not a new problem. What usually begins as “interaction” with seniors can quickly turn into physical violence, mental harassment, humiliation and abuse. Many in India have died or killed themselves over ragging.
In 2009, a 19-year-old MBBS student Aman Kachroo, died after being assaulted by his seniors at a medical college in Himachal Pradesh.
In 2019, Maharashtra’s Dr Payal Tadvi, pursuing her post-graduation from Mumbai’s BYL Nair Hospital, died by suicide after allegedly facing ragging and casteist harrasment by senior doctors.
The government and regulators introduced stricter anti-ragging rules to tackle the problem. In 2009, the UGC and then the Medical Council of India made it mandatory for colleges to have anti-ragging committees. The government also launched a 24×7 anti-ragging helpline and an online complaint portal. Despite these measures, cases of ragging continue to be reported from medical colleges across India.
This was the 5th convocation of Jodhpur AIIMS where degrees were conferred upon 1,189 students.
(Edited by Stela Dey)