A CCTV image from Government Medical College (GMC), Bhavnagar, has emerged showing two resident doctors being made to pose as a “murga” inside an operation theatre along with a screenshot of a message by a junior resident which described a pattern of humiliation, including being kept awake through the night and asked to send selfies at regular intervals.Dr Dhruv Chauhan, national spokesperson of the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network, posted a CCTV image that appeared to show two resident doctors being made to pose as “murga” inside an operation theatre.Sharing the image, Chauhan wrote, “The moment I received this CCTV picture from GMC Bhavnagar (Gujarat), my mind froze for a moment thinking how mentally and physically devastated these Orthopaedic surgery resident doctors must have felt at this moment when they were made a murgha openly in the Operation Theatre.”In an earlier post, Chauhan also shared screenshots of messages that he said were sent by a first-year Orthopaedics resident. In the messages, the student alleged, “They make us murgha in the OT.” The student further claimed, “They make us stand whole night and ask us to send selfie every half an hour with time to make sure we don’t get any sleep.” The resident also alleged verbal abuse by seniors. The issue was also highlighted by the United Doctors Front (UDF).Following the allegations, the college’s anti-ragging committee conducted an inquiry after receiving directions from Gujarat Health Minister Praful Pansheriya. During the inquiry, written statements were taken from first-year, second-year and third-year students of the Orthopaedics department, along with statements from faculty members and support staff.Based on the findings, the Gujarat health department took action against six students. One student has been suspended for two years, three students have been suspended for one year each, and two students have been suspended for six months. All six students have also been directed to vacate their hostel rooms.The health department said the suspended students will not be allowed to participate in academic, clinical, research or any other college-related activities during the suspension period.
