ension prevailed among students of the ESI Medical College in KK Nagar on Wednesday after the administration allegedly placed 12 second-year students under suspension based on complaints of ragging a junior. While the central government-run college remains closed for study holidays ahead of upcoming exams, the 12 students were called for questioning by the dean after reports of the 'offence' emerged. The students, all day scholars, allegedly went to the men's hostel on Monday and ragged a first-year student. The victim lodged a complaint with the dean who ordered an inquiry. A student said most occupants of the college hostel were from places outside Chennai and some had problems as they were not willing to listen to their seniors. Many small acts culminated in the ragging incident, he said. "Usually we hear horror stories about incidents of ragging in medical colleges. But this started out as a minor incident where seniors were teasing the junior but it quickly snowballed into an ego clash when the junior student's parents and friends got involved," said another student, requesting anonymity. All students in the college have been instructed not to talk about the incident as it has already made matters worse between the students and the staff, he added. A staff member said the matter escalated rapidly after the junior student brought in people to support him. "We saw all senior boys standing in the veranda of the college on Tuesday waiting for the inquiry. Though nothing dangerous or disturbing happened during the ragging session, the tension increased between both parties as it became an ego issue," he said. The senior students could have been let off with a warning but the victim's family mounted a lot of pressure on the administration and ensured that those accused of ragging him were suspended, the staff member said. However, no police complaint was lodged and all attempts to reach the dean failed. Source