18 Vadodara Medical College Residents Accuse Senior Professor of Ragging, Triggering Immediate Transfer

Eighteen resident doctors from the psychiatry department at SSG Hospital and Baroda Medical College accused an associate professor of physical and mental harassment during a closed-door hearing with Gujarat Health Minister Praful Pansheriya, prompting the faculty member's immediate transfer to Bhavnagar.

What started as a routine inspection of Vadodara’s largest government hospital turned into an extraordinary interaction when the Health Minister asked senior officials, including the hospital superintendent, to leave the room. Over the course of an hour, the postgraduate medical students presented written complaints and supporting material detailing alleged ragging, obscene gestures, inappropriate late-night messages, and direct threats to their academic careers and theses.

Female resident doctors specifically alleged that the associate professor, Dr Chirag Barot, made inappropriate remarks about their physical appearance and clothing.

Hours after the meeting, the Health and Family Welfare Department issued an internal order transferring Dr Barot from Government Medical College, Vadodara, to Government Medical College, Bhavnagar, with immediate effect.

Zero Tolerance Policy

The swift administrative action follows heightened sensitivity around medical college ragging across Gujarat, coming less than a month after a postgraduate medical student died by suicide in Surat.

The matter had previously been raised with the psychiatry department’s internal anti-ragging committee before reaching the Health Ministry.

"The government will not compromise on the safety, dignity and mental well-being of students and doctors," Minister Pansheriya said in a public statement, adding that the state maintains a zero-tolerance approach to harassment in medical educational institutions. "The complaints and material placed by the resident doctors have been taken seriously and immediate action has been ordered."

Family Denies Harassment Allegations

Addressing reporters in Vadodara, Dr Barot’s wife, Dr Dhara Barot, strongly denied the accusations and questioned the urgency of the transfer while an official inquiry remains pending.

Dhara, a clinical psychologist, stated that her husband had already cooperated with the internal committee and submitted his response.

"There is an ongoing inquiry into the complaints filed by the students. A committee has already been formed," Dhara said. "Why then were these residents not able to have patience and wait for the outcome of the probe?"

Expressing concern over her husband’s mental state under the intense public pressure, Dhara warned of the psychological toll on their family. "If my husband ends up taking some wrong step like the Surat case and my son and I are left alone, who will be responsible? Why can’t this be a fair probe?" she asked.