The Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research authorities have slapped a fine of Rs 54,000 on 18 students for allegedly ragging their juniors.

The institute is located at Burla in Sambalpur in western Odisha.

Sources said that fourth-year MBBS students had invited their juniors to play basketball on the campus. However, the juniors mostly from second year did not turn up for the game claiming they were busy with other work.

Taking it as an insult, the seniors ganged up and came to the hostel for second-year students and again asked them to come to the basketball ground for a friendly match. But as soon as the juniors reached the ground, the seniors asked them to keep standing for five hours from 11pm to 4 the next morning, sources said. Later one of the junior students lodged a complaint with the institute’s ragging cell following which a probe was ordered.

Institute director Lalit Kumar Meher told The Telegraph: “Following the complaint, we constituted a three-member committee to probe into the matter. The committee has found the seniors guilty of indulging in ragging. The ragging cell decided to impose a fine of Rs 3,000 each on the guilty students. Their parents will be informed about the incident and will be asked to guide their kids.”

Asked when the ragging incident took place, Meher said: “The incident took place around 10 days back. The dean of students’ welfare is looking into it.”

Stating that the authorities will not tolerate any kind of ragging on the campus, Meher said: “We would have been more harsh if the nature of ragging had been found to be more worse and if any other kind of physical torture was reported. Maintaining discipline is the most important aspect on the premises of the institute. Seniors and juniors have assured us to live on the campus as brothers.”