Kottayam/Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Nurses and Midwives Council (KNMC) on Saturday decided to bar all five students who are the accused in connection with the Government Nursing College ragging incident from their academic programmes.

During a meeting convened by KNMC, the council concluded that the students involved in the ragging case were unfit to complete their education or join the nursing profession.

The council emphasised that nursing requires individuals to be compassionate and humane, whereas the accused exhibited extreme cruelty toward their juniors, an attitude deemed completely unacceptable.

A council representative described the incident at the Kottayam institution as "an extremely cruel act" that cannot be justified in any manner. "We will never justify the incident. What we want to emphasise is that allowing such individuals into the nursing profession would be a disaster," stated Usha Devi, a member of the council.

She further stated that the council would officially communicate its decision to the relevant authorities. "We made the decision in a way that leaves them no chance to continue their studies. Through the District Health Services (DHS), we will inform the government of our decision, which will also be conveyed to the college authorities," she told PTI.

The council’s decision means that the accused students will no longer be able to pursue their studies in Kerala. This move follows the state Health Minister’s earlier assurance that strict measures would be taken against those responsible for the ragging incident.

On Friday, authorities suspended Principal Sulekha A T and Assistant Professor/Assistant Warden-in-Charge of the student hostel, Ajeesh P Mani, pending an inquiry into their alleged failure to prevent or properly address the ragging case.

The hostel's housekeeper-cum-security staff was also immediately removed, according to a statement issued by the Health Minister’s office on Friday night.

This action followed an investigation led by the Director of Medical Education under the direction of Health Minister Veena George. Meanwhile, political leaders across parties continued to denounce the incident and called for stringent action against those responsible.

Devaswom and Ports Minister V N Vasavan reiterated the government’s commitment to ensuring that all culprits face legal consequences. "Everyone mentioned in the victim's statement was arrested without delay. If more people were involved, they should also be brought to justice. That is the government's stand," he said.

However, Vasavan dismissed the opposition's claims that some of the accused had links with the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPI(M). "The SFI had no connection with the incident. The Left outfit has already clarified this and demanded stern action against the accused. If a political outfit like SFI had been present on campus, the incident would not have occurred," he stated.

General Education Minister V Sivankutty took a different stance, stating that if any individual SFI members were involved in the incident, they should be expelled from the organisation.

Meanwhile, the opposition Congress voiced dissatisfaction with the police investigation, arguing that authorities had not even sought custody of the accused. Senior Congress leader and MLA Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan accused the police of attempting to shield someone, stating, "We demand a court-monitored investigation."

Protests escalated at the Government Nursing College in Kottayam on Saturday, with BJP and AIYF activists staging demonstrations. As part of the investigation, police recovered a compass, dumbbells, and granite blocks from a room in the boys' hostel where the alleged acts of torture took place.

Disturbing visuals of the incident emerged on Thursday, revealing that the victim had been tied to a cot and repeatedly stabbed with a compass. Footage obtained by the Gandhinagar police showed the victim stripped half-naked and subjected to severe abuse, including dumbbells being placed on his private parts while he was restrained, as well as facial cream being forcibly poured into his mouth.

The ragging reportedly took place in the boys' hostel, targeting first-year nursing students. Five third-year students—Samuel Johnson (20) and Jeeva NS (19) and third-year students Rahul Raj KP (22), Rijiljith C (21) and Vivek NV (21).—were arrested in connection with the case.

Authorities took them into custody following a complaint that ragging had been occurring for nearly three months at the state-run nursing college, which operates under the Government Medical College. The accused students are currently in the district jail following a court order remanding them in custody.