Patna: The Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS) is counselling both the accused and aggrieved medicos involved in the ragging incident along with their parents to prevent a repeat.

The college administration has formed a students' welfare committee (comprising heads of departments of the college), which has been asked to sit with students once in a fortnight to solve their issues within campus.

"Police investigations are going on. The cops are recording the statements of both the parties. The accused students have also submitted affidavit attested by a first-class magistrate, stating they would not indulge in ragging in future, failing which a harsh disciplinary action could be taken against them. The institute administration had asked students to submit the affidavit," said IGIMS principal Dr Ranjit Guha.

He added: "In order to restore normality on the campus, we are counselling both parties besides counselling the medicos' parents. We had called up the students against whom allegations were levelled and their parents for counselling. Besides, the batch of the complainant students are being counselled. The students' welfare committee, which has been formed recently, will now regularly counsel students once a fortnight and address their concerns to prevent any such incident. Before I took charge as principal, no such committee existed," said the IGIMS principal.

Allegations of ragging rocked the IGIMS campus after MBBS students of the 2016 batch complained that the 2013, 2014 and 2015 batch students ragging them on the campus on July 3 and July 4 nights.

In their complaint to the University Grants Commission's National Anti-Ragging Helpline and Medical Council of India (MCI), the 2016 batch medicos had levelled serious allegations against 15 students of the 2013, 2014 and 2015 batches, saying that they forced them to strip and asked them to walk nude on the field. The students also complained that they were beaten up and one of them also suffered a shoulder injury.

The 2016 students had also lodged an FIR in this connection at Shastrinagar police station on July 4. The college authorities came to know about the ragging episode only after the UGC National Anti-Ragging Helpline sent them a summary of the incident and inquired about the action over it.

On July 19, the IGIMS principal issued a suspension order against all the 19 students till further orders on the recommendations of the anti-ragging committee of the college which met on July 18.

IGIMS sources said the faculty members and administrative officials were now trying measures so that the FIR against the 15 medicos was withdrawn by the aggrieved, else their medical career would be affected.

"We have also found out that the letter that was sent by the batch of aggrieved students contains many forged signatures. It seems like some students have forged signatures of four-five other students. We have sent out these details to the UGC's national anti-ragging helpline," said an IGIMS official, wishing anonymity.