Karnataka: 38 medical students punished for making reels at hospital

A day after Karnataka health minister Dinesh Gundu Rao terminated a doctor from service for doing a pre-wedding photo shoot inside an operation theatre at the government hospital in Chitradurga district, the Gadag Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) on Saturday, 10 February, punished 38 medical students by extending their housemanship posting by 10 days for making reels in the institute premises.

The students had shot several reels, including dancing on popular Hindi, Kannada, and Telugu film songs that went viral on social media. The public had objected to the act of using the hospital premises, lab and operation theatre for filming entertainment videos.

The students shot videos during the evening and night on the hospital premises, which went unnoticed by the authorities. After the students posted the videos on their social media platforms, they went viral, drawing the notice of the authorities.

GIMS director Basavaraja Bommanahalli said he came to know about the reels on Saturday.

“I had summoned all the students of which 38 had shot the videos. It was a big crime on their part to use the hospital premises for shooting reels,” Bommanahalli said.

“They should have shot the reels in their private spaces. They should not have caused inconvenience to the patients. The students are claiming that they had shot them for the pre-graduation ceremony. But we did not permit any such act. Action has been initiated against them,” he added.